Method and apparatus for planning and customizing a gaming experience

ABSTRACT

The invention includes a system and method for planning and customizing a gaming vacation. Initially, a central controller receives preference and configuration data from a user at a user terminal. A preparation code is then determined and associated with the configuration data. The configuration data and the associated preparation code are transmitted from the central controller to a casino server. The central controller provides feedback regarding the user&#39;s requests. The feedback may include, for example, marketing offers for the user and/or configuring a gaming device according to the configuration data associated with a preparation code received from a user at the gaming device.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation application of, claims the benefit ofand priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/951,732, filed onJul. 26, 2013, which is a continuation application of, claims thebenefit of and priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/782,381,filed on May 18, 2010, which is a continuation application of, claimsthe benefit of and priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/174,432, filed on Jun. 17, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,789, whichclaims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/298,482, filed on Jun. 15, 2001, the entire contentsof which are each incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for planning andcustomizing a casino gaming and vacation experience. More specifically,the present invention relates to permitting a player, or others, to planand customize activities and elements of playing at, and visiting aresort casino, according to the player's preferences and/orcharacteristics.

BACKGROUND

There are currently over 500,000 slot machines in operation thatgenerate more than $15 billion in annual revenue for United Statescasinos. Most casinos generate more than half of their gaming revenuesfrom slot machines and some individual casinos offer two or threethousand slot machines at a single location. In fact, two differentcasinos in Connecticut each provide over six thousand gaming devices forplayers.

For players, finding a machine that they like can be very difficult. Forexample, a player looking for a “Full Pay Jacks or Better” video pokermachine might spend half an hour or more looking for one, only to findthat the casino does not have one. Such a frustrated player might thenbe tempted to just leave to try another casino. Even upon finding apreferred game, the player may discover that there are elements of thegame that he does not like (e.g. the type font is too small, or thecards are dealt too fast).

Casinos often contain hundreds of security cameras. Most footagegathered through the cameras is of a routine nature. The footage issimply stored on tape and eventually erased without ever being used. Theexpense associated with maintaining and operating so many cameras issignificant.

Many people center entire vacations around casino visits. Manyvacationers must travel significant distances to reach a casino andthus, casinos frequently offer hotel accommodations, resort facilities,restaurants, and shopping, in addition to gaming Visitors to Las Vegasspend an average of 4.3 days in Las Vegas and make, on average, only 1.9trips there per year. Thus, vacationers have limited time to enjoygaming.

People may spend weeks planning a vacation, often beginning far inadvance of the vacation. Planning for a vacation builds excitement andanticipation. Planning also allows people to forego logistical and othermundane considerations during the limited time when they would rather beenjoying themselves. In addition, vacationers frequently go through thetrouble of carrying photography and video equipment to capture images toremember their vacation.

What is needed are systems and methods to mitigate or eliminate theproblems identified above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example system according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an alternative example systemaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a centralcontroller 102 as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a casino server 112as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a user terminal 106as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a gaming device 120as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a marketer device128 as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B according to some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example of a preparation menu screenas it may be displayed on a user terminal 106 for use with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an example of a preparation sub-menuscreen as it may be displayed on a user terminal 106 for use with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a table illustrating an example data structure of an exampleuser database 208 as depicted in FIG. 2 for use in some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 10 is a table illustrating an example data structure of an exampletrip documentation database 210 as depicted in FIG. 2 for use in someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a table illustrating an example data structure of an examplegambling circle database 212 as depicted in FIG. 2 for use in someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a table illustrating an example data structure of an examplepreparation database 214 as depicted in FIG. 2 for use in someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a table illustrating an example data structure of an exampleproduct database 608 as depicted in FIG. 6 for use in some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for planningand customizing a gaming experience according to and for use in someembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed invention overcomes the above and other drawbacks of theprior art by allowing a user to remotely plan various aspects of agambling vacation. In some embodiments of the present invention, a usermay customize the look and feel of a gaming device prior to visiting thecasino. He may also choose a preferred game, a preferred pay table,preferred odds, win percentages, and so on. In some embodiments a usermay remotely select a betting system that limits his total number ofwagers, that allocates winnings to predetermined accounts, thatincreases and decreases his rate of handle pulls based on gamblingresults, and so on. Remotely selecting a betting system may allow a userto follow a predetermined gaming strategy, avoiding tempting deviationswhile at the slot machine.

In some embodiments of the invention, a user may involve friends,relatives, and other acquaintances in his gambling vacation. In someembodiments, a user may identify a group of people who are to share inhis winnings. The user may then embark on his vacation with the goodwishes of all those who will benefit from his results. In someembodiments, a user may remotely submit email addresses of friends sothat the email addresses are readily available for him at hisdestination casino. The user may then email his friends as he wins. Insome embodiments, a user may also remotely set up an account on a casinoserver or a particular slot machine, receive an email address for hisaccount, and then let friends and relatives know where they may contacthim.

In some embodiments, a user may remotely set up credit lines so that heneed not carry large amounts of cash to a casino or have to process acredit application while on vacation. In some embodiments a user may bepresented with and accept a marketing offer (and thus agree to fulfillany associated obligations) in exchange for casino resort discounts,coupons, complimentary (“comp”) program points, free gambling credits,and/or insurance against gambling losses. In some embodiments a user mayarrange to receive marketing offers at a casino. The user may thenchoose whether or not to accept the marketing offers depending on howmuch he has won or lost at the casino.

In some embodiments a user may remotely configure the user interface toa gaming device. When the user then appears at a gaming device, he maybenefit from the use of areas on the touch screen that allow him to makehis favorite bet, order his favorite drink, accept an offer from amarketer, and so on.

In some embodiments a user may remotely designate prizes or comps hedesires. A user may remotely submit his intended travel plans, includinghow long he is to stay at a destination, how much he is to gamble, wherehe is to eat, and so on. The user may then receive marketing offersbased on his intentions.

In some embodiments a user may remotely select a method of documentationfor a trip to a casino. He may ask a casino to use its security camerasto take pictures of him when he has won large prizes. He may ask thatthe casino save the results of particular spins on the slot machine, forlater reenactment. The user may then be motivated to spend most of histime at that casino if the user wants his vacation documented in aconsistent manner.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a central controllercommunicates with multiple user devices, multiple casino servers, andmultiple marketer devices. The casino servers, in turn, are incommunication with multiple casino devices, including gaming devices.Prior to embarking on a gaming vacation, a user may log onto a Web sitehosted by the central controller. On the Web site, the user may preparefor his vacation by inputting a preferred gaming device configuration,choosing a betting system, selecting a group of friends with which toshare winnings, and by performing or using other aspects of theinvention mentioned above. The central controller may then associate allthe data defining the user's preparations with a preparation code or auser identifier, such as the user's name or a player tracking cardnumber, and store the user's preparation data in, for example, apreparation database and the user identifier in a user database. Whenthe user subsequently visits a casino, the user may submit his useridentifier and/or preparation code to any casino device. The device maythen contact the central controller via the casino server and receivethe user's preparation data. The casino device may then modify itsoperations in accordance with the preparation data. For example, thecasino device may execute software for a particular game the user haschosen, or may spin the reels at a speed the user has chosen.

Also, once a user has submitted his user identifier to a first casinodevice, other casino devices may act in accordance with the user'spreparation data. For example, if a user has asked that pictures of himbe taken when he wins any prize of $1000 or more, a security camera mayfocus on the user when he wins any such prize.

In some embodiments of the invention, the central controller and thecasino server are one and the same. In such a case, the combined centralcontroller/server may be in communication with casino devices atmultiple casinos, or, in some embodiments, may be in communication withcasino devices at only a single casino.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, a gaming devicemay be customized by a player over the Internet. By logging on to acentral controller, the player may be provided with a menu of game typesand a series of potential customization options. After providingcustomization data, the player may be given a customization code thatcan be entered into any slot machine to reconfigure it with the storedcustomizations. For example, a user may log on to the Internet via apersonal computer and access a casino Web site for customizing slotmachines. The user may select from among several game types (e.g.deuces-wild, jacks or better, video reel, three reel, five reel, videopoker, blackjack, etc.) and proceed to configure the game to his liking.For example, the user may set a default game denomination, a gamestarting point, rules for making automatic play decisions, game rules, acolor scheme, a level of help, a bonus frequency, a bonus duration, aspeed of reel spin, a font size and/or style, a currency type, a soundtype, a sound level, a language, a currency, a payout structure, apayout amount, a payout option, a team option, a comp format, a jackpotprobability, etc. After completing the customization, the user may beprovided with a customization code. When the user arrives at a casinoand sits down at a slot machine, he enters his customization code andthe game reconfigures itself to the user's previously providedcustomizations.

In some embodiments of the disclosed invention, information about a usermay be used to provide targeted advertising and/or targeted marketingoffers to the user. For example, a user may log on to a centralcontroller (i.e. the customization Web site) and answer a series ofquestions about himself. For example, he might identify his age, gender,whether or not he owns a home, the types of magazines he buys, whetherhe has any children, whether he has any stock investments, his bloodpressure and cholesterol levels, his education level, the identity ofhis long distance phone carrier, etc. The answers to these questions maybe stored along with an associated customization code and transmitted tothe casino server. When the player arrives at a casino and sits down ata gaming device to play, he enters his customization code, which is thentransmitted to the casino server. During the gambling session, if it isdetermined that a marketing offer should be provided to the player, thenthe marketing answers are retrieved and used to better target themarketing offer. An offer to switch long distance service from AT&T® toMCI®, for example, might be skipped in favor of another offer if theplayer is already an MCI® customer.

In some embodiments, rather than receiving customization data from theplayer, the casino stores customization information about the player.For example, if the player is a frequent gambler, the casino mightactivate a comp payout percentage of two percent (2%) instead of themore typical one percent (1%). In some embodiments, instead of loggingon to the central controller, the player may log directly into a casinoserver or a slot machine. The connection might be through the Internetor via a direct dial/WAN connection. Customization data may be providedas described above. In this embodiment, the player might be able toretrieve information from the casino about his play. The player mayprovide his player tracking identifier (and possibly a PIN code forsecurity) to gain access to his account. The player may also check tosee how much he has won for IRS tax reporting purposes, for example.

With these and other advantages and features of the invention that willbecome hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be moreclearly understood by reference to the following detailed description ofthe invention, the appended claims and to the several drawings includedherein.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way ofillustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and thatstructural, logical, software, and electrical changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. The followingdescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and thescope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Applicants have recognized that a need exists for systems and methodsthat enable users to quickly and easily locate suitable gaming devices120, 122, 124, 126 without having to hunt through thousands of othergaming devices. One particular benefit to users of embodiments of thepresent invention is that users are able to cause a gaming device 120 toinstantly conform to their individual player preferences uponpresentation of a customization or preparation code. The players do notneed to waste time wading through an elaborate maze of configurationoptions at the casino instead of actually using time to play the games.A second benefit to the user is that marketing offers presented via agaming device 120 may be much more targeted and controlled which resultsin less time wasted by the user having to reject offers that are notappropriate or interesting. Further, using the present invention, a usercan greatly extend the excitement of a gambling vacation. The user hasthe opportunity to build anticipation prior to the vacation by planningnumerous aspects before hand. He can test various gaming deviceconfigurations to find the one that's just right. He can get his friendsinvolved by signing them up to win if he wins. He can arrange for tokensof good luck or sentimental value (e.g. pictures of pets) to be with himat the gaming device. The user can also extend the excitement of thevacation on the other end by reviewing a scrap book and other mementosof his trip when it is documented by the casino. The user has theopportunity to optimize his playing conditions and other aspects of hisvacation, without wasting precious time during the vacation. Forexample, a user can determine a good configuration for a gaming devicein advance, and also determine where in Las Vegas to find a gamingdevice capable of that configuration.

Benefits of the present invention for the casino include: (1) players nolonger leave the casino if they do not find their preferred machines;(2) players play longer when the machine is configured for their needs;(3) players accept more marketing offers when they are better targeted;(4) a casino that allows a user to plan and optimize his experience atthat casino is very likely to obtain a large share of the user'sbusiness; (5) when a casino documents a user's vacation, the user ismore likely to remain at that casino so as to have his vacationdocumented in a consistent manner; (6) when marketers fund portions of auser's gambling activities, the user tends to gamble more, providinggreater profits for the casino; and (7) a user who documents a vacationmay show the documentation to friends, creating new customers for thecasino.

Benefits to gaming device manufacturers include (1) acquiring playercustomization information is valuable and useful in developing newgaming devices and (2) manufactures will sell more customizationsoftware for gaming devices. A benefit of the invention for a marketeris that when a user submits information about himself, his intentions,his desires, and his worries, a marketer can better target offers to theuser. For example if the user says he is a Mercedes owner, a marketercan attempt to sell upscale items to the user. If the user is worriedabout losing more than $40, the marketer can offer to offset user lossesin excess of $40 in return for the user's business. The presentinvention allows a player to select the specific types of offers he iswilling to consider from marketers, making the marketer's job mucheasier.

A. Terms

Throughout the description that follows and unless otherwise specified,the following terms may include the meanings provided in this section.These terms and illustrative meanings are provided to clarify thelanguage selected to describe embodiments of the invention both in thespecification and in the appended claims.

The terms “products,” “goods,” “merchandise,” and “services” shall besynonymous and may refer to anything licensed, leased, sold, availablefor sale, available for lease, available for licensing, and/or offeredor presented for sale, lease, or licensing including packages ofproducts, subscriptions to products, contracts, information, services,and intangibles.

The term “merchant” may refer to an entity who may offer to sell, lease,and/or license one or more products to a consumer (for the consumer oron behalf of another) or to other merchants. For example, merchants mayinclude sales channels, individuals, companies, manufacturers,distributors, direct sellers, re-sellers, and/or retailers. Merchantsmay transact out of buildings including stores, outlets, malls andwarehouses, and/or they may transact via any number of additionalmethods including mail order catalogs, vending machines, online Websites, and/or via telephone marketing. Note that a producer ormanufacturer may choose not to sell to customers directly and in such acase, a retailer may serve as the manufacture's or producer's saleschannel.

The terms “player” and “user” shall be synonymous and may refer to anyperson or entity that operates a user device, a gaming device, and/or auser terminal.

The term “gaming device” may refer to any electrical, mechanical,electro-mechanical and/or other device that may accept a wager, mayfollow a process to generate an outcome, and may pay winnings based onthe outcome. The outcome may be randomly generated, as with a slotmachine; may be generated through a combination of randomness and userskill, as with video poker; or may be generated entirely through userskill. A gaming device may include any gaming machine and/or system,including slot machines, video poker machines, video bingo machines,video roulette machines, video keno machines, video blackjack machines,arcade games, video games, video lottery terminals, online gamingsystems, sports betting machines, game consoles, personal computerslogged into online gaming sites, etc. Gaming devices may or may not beowned and/or maintained by a casino and/or may or may not exist within acasino location.

The term “casino device” may refer to any electrical, mechanical,electro-mechanical and/or other device meant to be used or interact withpeople at a casino. These may include for example, user devices, I/Odevices, gaming devices, and/or personal computers located at hotelregistration desks, chip cashing desks, casino pits, and so on. Casinodevices may also include such things as security cameras, elevators,music systems, guest room televisions, telephones, beds, mini-bars, doorlocks, chairs, point-of-sale terminals, etc.

The term “casino” may refer to the owner of gaming devices, owners'agents, and/or any entity who may profit from players' use of the gamingdevices.

The term “casino location” may refer to the physical geographic site,complex, or building where gaming devices owned and/or operated by acasino are located. In the case of an online casino, casino location mayrefer to the address (e.g. the uniform resource locator (URL)) of theonline casino's Web site or facility.

The term “handle pull” may refer to a single play at a gaming device. Insome embodiments, a handle pull may refer to a single complete game (orhand) or in other embodiments, the term may refer to a play related to asingle wager. For example, in video blackjack, a user might play asingle game in which he splits a pair of sevens, requiring an additionalwager. This single game may be considered to include either one or twohandle pulls.

The terms “central controller” and “controller” shall be synonymous andmay refer to any device that may communicate with one or more casinoservers, one or more gaming devices, one or more third-party serviceprovider servers, one or more remote controllers, one or more playerdevices, and/or other network nodes, and may be capable of relayingcommunications to and from each.

The term “user terminal” and “remote controller” shall be synonymous andmay refer to any device that may communicate with one or more casinoservers, one or more gaming devices, one or more third-party serviceprovider servers, one or more player devices, and/or other networknodes. User terminals may, for example, include personal computers,laptop computers, handheld computers, telephones, kiosks, automatedteller machines, gaming devices, game consoles, and/or vending machines.They may be used to access configuration selection programs, to executesuch programs, and/or to configure gaming devices. They may includefacilities to support secure communications using encryption or thelike.

The terms “player device” and “user device” shall be synonymous and mayrefer to any device owned or used by a user or consumer capable ofaccessing and/or displaying online and/or offline content. Playerdevices may communicate with one or more casino servers, one or moregaming devices, one or more third-party service provider servers, one ormore user terminals, and/or other network nodes. In some embodiments,player devices may, for example, include gaming devices, personalcomputers, personal digital assistants, point-of-sale terminals, pointof display terminals, kiosks, telephones, cellular phones, automatedteller machines (ATMs), pagers, and combinations of such devices. Theymay be used to access configuration or preference selection programs, toexecute such programs, and/or to configure gaming devices.

The term “input device” may refer to a device that is used to receive aninput. An input device may communicate with or be part of another device(e.g. a point of sale terminal, a point of display terminal, a userterminal, a server, a player device, a gaming device, a controller,etc.). Some examples of input devices include: a bar-code scanner, amagnetic stripe reader, a computer keyboard, a point-of-sale terminalkeypad, a touch-screen, a microphone, an infrared sensor, a sonicranger, a computer port, a video camera, a motion detector, a digitalcamera, a network card, a universal serial bus (USB) port, a GPSreceiver, a radio frequency identification (RFID) receiver, a RFreceiver, a thermometer, a pressure sensor, and a weight scale.

The term “output device” may refer to a device that is used to outputinformation. An output device may communicate with or be part of anotherdevice (e.g. a gaming device, a point of sale terminal, a point ofdisplay terminal, a player device, a merchant device, a controller,etc.). Possible output devices include: a cathode ray tube (CRT)monitor, liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, light emitting diode (LED)screen, a printer, an audio speaker, an infra-red transmitter, a radiotransmitter.

The term “I/O device” may refer to any combination of input and/oroutput devices.

The term “frequent shopper card” may refer to a device that may becapable of storing information about a consumer who is a shopper. Thisinformation may include identifying information and shopping historyinformation. The frequent shopper card may be machine readable, forexample, by a POS terminal. According to some embodiments of the presentinvention, a frequent shopper card may store gaming device customizedconfiguration information.

The term “player tracking card” may refer to a device that may becapable of storing information about a consumer who is a casino player.Typically player tracking cards may be accessed by gaming devices andmagnetic card readers operated by casino staff. The information storedon the player tracking card may include identifying information, as wellas financial information, such as a number of gambling creditsremaining. The card may be machine readable, for example, by a gamingdevice. According to some embodiments of the present invention, a playertracking card may store gaming device customized configurationinformation.

The term “ATM card” may refer to a device that may be capable of storinginformation about a consumer who is a bank customer. This informationmay include identifying information and bank account information. TheATM card may be machine readable, for example, by an automated tellermachine. According to some embodiments of the present invention, an ATMcard may store gaming device customized configuration information.

The term “configuration” may refer to one or more feature values,preferences, or selections for the operation of a gaming or otherdevice.

The term “customized configuration” may refer to a configurationdesigned or chosen by a player for his own use.

The term “configuration data” may refer to a customized configurationand/or information that a device may use to configure itself or anotherdevice. In some embodiments, configuration data may refer to informationabout a player that may be useful to casinos or third-parties who mayattempt to configure a gaming device to some degree for the player. Forexample, a marketing company may use the information about a player tocreate a targeted advertisement that may be configured to be presentedto the player via the gaming device.

The term “preparation data” may refer to any data received from, orrelated to, a user that is descriptive of characteristics of the user'sdesires, aspirations, intentions, expectations, preferences, and/orplans related to his gambling experience or gambling vacation. In someembodiments, preparation data may include information (and/ordocumentation) useful in (and/or required to) fulfill the user'sdesires, aspirations, intentions, expectations, and/or plans. Forexample, preparation data may include work product, such as a completedsurvey form, that the user has produced in exchange for a coupon from amarketing research firm, wherein the coupon is for a free meal at thecasino restaurant at which the user was planning to eat. In someembodiments, preparation data may also include configuration data.

The terms “customization code” and “preparation code” shall besynonymous and may refer to a code used to identify a set of storedpreparation data (which may include user preferences and otherconfiguration data). In some embodiments, a customization code may bethe player's player tracking card number or other identification number.In some embodiments, a customization code may include actual preparationdata and/or an address of (or a pointer to) preparation data. A pointerto preparation data may be used, for example, to indicate where, withina casino device's read-only memory, predefined preparation data for thatcasino device may be found.

The term “feature” may refer to an individual aspect of the operation ofa gaming (or other) device, or a user's experience with the gaming (orother) device. Individual features might include the reel speed, thepayout percentage, or the contrast of the video screen on a slotmachine. A set of features taken together represents a configuration fora gaming device.

The terms “gambling insurance policy,” “gambling insurance,” and“gambling insurance contract” shall be synonymous and may refer to anagreement between a user and a casino, and/or between a user and aninsurer, with the following typical provisions: (1) the user pays theinsurer a fixed amount up front; (2) the user must make a predeterminednumber of handle pulls, no more and no less; (3) the user need not payany additional money after purchasing the gambling insurance contract;(4) the user keeps any net winnings after all handle pulls have beencompleted; (5) if the user has a net loss after the handle pulls havebeen completed, then the loss amount is paid to the casino by theinsurer and the player is refunded the loss amount. There are manypossible variants of these provisions and additional provisions arepossible. A gambling insurance contract may insure a user againstexcessive losses, and may give the user more handle pulls than wouldotherwise be possible for the price of the gambling insurance contract.Also, since there may be no additional user decisions required after theuser has purchased the gambling insurance contract, the user need not bepresent for the execution of the contract.

The term “contract” may include a gambling insurance contract and agaming contract.

The term “gambling circle” may refer to a group of people, at least oneof whom gambles, and whose members receive benefits based on the resultsof the gambler. For example, a user may go to Las Vegas, while severalfriends remain in the user's home town. The user may sign up the friendsto be part of the user's gambling circle. In some embodiments, thefriends may then receive a percentage of any jackpot the user wins.

B. System

An example embodiment of the system 100A of the present invention isdepicted in FIG. 1A. The system 100A according to some embodiments ofthe present invention may include a central controller 102 (an exampleof which is depicted in FIG. 2) in one or two-way communication with oneor more casino servers 112, 114 (an example of which is depicted in FIG.3); one or more user terminals 106, 108, 110 (an example of which isdepicted in FIG. 4); and/or one or more marketer devices 128, 130 (anexample of which is depicted in FIG. 6) via a network, for example, theInternet 104 or via another communications link. Casino servers 112,114, in turn, are each in communication with one or more gaming devices120, 122, 124, 126 (an example of which is depicted in FIG. 5). Althoughnot pictured, other casino devices besides gaming devices 120, 122, 124,126 may be connected to the casino servers 112, 114 and in communicationwith (and/or controllable by) the central controller 102. The devicesdepicted as being connected directly together in FIG. 1A mayalternatively be connected via a network, for example, a local areanetwork, the Internet 104, and/or via another communications link.

In operation, the central controller 102 may function under the controlof a casino, a merchant, or other entity that may also control use ofthe gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126. For example, the centralcontroller 102 may be a server in a merchant's network. In someembodiments, the central controller 102 and the casino servers 112, 114may be one and the same.

Referring to FIG. 1B, an alternative system 100B according to some otherembodiments of the present invention further includes one or morethird-party service provider servers 118. A third-party service providerserver 118 may also be in one or two-way communication with the centralcontroller 102. However, as shown in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1B,the third-party service provider server 118 may be disposed between thecentral controller 102 and the user terminals 106, 108, 110.Alternatively, the third-party service provider server 118 may bedisposed between the central controller 102 and the casino servers 112,114.

The primary difference between the two alternative embodiments depictedin FIGS. 1A and 1B is that the embodiment of FIG. 1B includes thethird-party service provider server 118 which may be operable by anentity distinct and/or physically remote from the entity operating thecentral controller 102. In operation, the third-party service providerserver 118 may perform the methods of the present invention by sendingsignals to the central controller 102 to be relayed to the userterminals 106, 108, 110. For example, a marketing company may operate athird-party service provider server 118 that communicates with a slotmachine manufacturing company server (functioning as a centralcontroller 102) to provide players with marketing offers based on playerinformation gathered via user terminals 106, 108, 110, marketer devices128, 130, and/or gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126. In the embodiment ofFIG. 1A, the functions of the third-party service provider server 118may be consolidated into the central controller 102.

An additional difference between these two embodiments relates to thephysical topology of the systems 100A and 100B. In both of the depictedembodiments, each node may securely communicate with every other node inthe system 100A, 100B via, for example, a virtual private network (VPN).Thus, all nodes may be logically connected. However, the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1B allows the third-party service provider server 118to optionally serve as a single gateway between the nodes that willtypically be under the control of one or more casinos (and playerswithin the casinos' location) and the other nodes in the system 100B,i.e. nodes that may be operated by players outside of the casinos'location. In some embodiments of the present invention, thecentralization, security, and control that naturally results from thistopology is useful in monitoring players' use of the system to make suchdeterminations as, for example, which preparations are the most popularor how many users are currently actively planning or preparing for avisit to a casino. Further, in some embodiments, marketer devices 128,130 may be connected to the system 100B via the Internet 104 instead ofdirectly to the central controller 102. This would physically locatethem on the “public” side of the third-party service provider server 118gateway and allow, for example, a much more secure network on the“private” side of the third-party service provider server 118 gateway.

In some embodiments, the casino servers 112, 114 may each be controlledby different casinos. The central controller 102 may be operated by anentity that uses the present invention to, for example, deliver playersto the different casinos. If there is a third-party service providerserver 118, it may be operated by an unrelated entity that merelypermits the operators of the central controller 102 to have access toplayers who are operating the user terminals 106, 108, 110 or the gamingdevices 120, 122, 124, 126. Thus, in such an example embodiment, thesystem of the present invention may involve multiple casinos (operatingcasino servers 112, 114, 116), a merchant such as a customer acquisitionservice agent (operating the central controller 102), merchant clientsof the customer acquisition service agent (operating the marketerdevices 128, 130), third-party network operators (operating third-partyservice provider servers 118), and users (operating user terminals 106,108, 110 and gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126). In alternativeembodiments, a casino may operate a combined central controller/casinoserver directly and the system may only involve a casino and users.

In both embodiments pictured in FIGS. 1A and 1B, communication betweenthe central controller 102, the casino servers 112, 114, the userterminals 106, 108, 110, the gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, marketerdevices 128, 130, and/or the third-party service provider server 118,may be direct and/or via a network such as the Internet 104.

Referring to both FIGS. 1A and 1B, each of the central controller 102,(the third-party service provider server 118 of FIG. 1B), the casinoservers 112, 114, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketerdevices 128, 130, and the user terminals 106, 108, 110 may comprise, forexample, computers, such as those based on the Intel® Pentium®processor, that are adapted to communicate with each other. Any numberof third-party service provider servers 118, casino servers 112, 114,116, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketer devices 128, 130,and/or user terminals 106, 108, 110 may be in communication with thecentral controller 102. In addition, the user terminals 106, 108, 110may be in direct or indirect, one or two-way communication with thecasino servers 112, 114, the marketer devices 128, 130, and/or thegaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126. The central controller 102, thethird-party service provider server 118, the casino servers 112, 114,gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketer devices 128, 130, and/orthe user terminals 106, 108, 110 may each be physically proximate toeach other or geographically remote from each other. The centralcontroller 102, the third-party service provider server 118, the casinoservers 112, 114, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketerdevices 128, 130, and/or the user terminals 106, 108, 110 may eachinclude input devices 202, 302, 402, 412, 502, 510, 512, 602, 610, 700,800 and output devices 202, 302, 402, 408, 502, 508, 602, 608, 700, 800.

As indicated above, communication between the central controller 102,the third-party service provider server 118, the casino servers 112,114, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketer devices 128, 130,and/or the user terminals 106, 108, 110 may be direct or indirect, suchas over an Internet Protocol (IP) network such as the Internet 104, anintranet, or an extranet through a Web site maintained by the centralcontroller 102 (and/or the third-party service provider server 118) on aremote server or over an online data network including commercialon-line service providers, bulletin board systems, routers, gateways,and the like. In some embodiments, the nodes may communicate with eachother over local area networks including Ethernet, Token Ring, and thelike, radio frequency communications, infrared communications, microwavecommunications, cable television systems, satellite links, Wide AreaNetworks (WAN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), other wireless networks, and thelike.

Those skilled in the art will understand that devices in communicationwith each other need not be continually transmitting to each other. Onthe contrary, such devices need only transmit to each other asnecessary, and may actually refrain from exchanging data most of thetime. For example, a device in communication with another device via theInternet 104 may not transmit data to the other device for weeks at atime.

The central controller 102 (and/or the third-party service providerserver 118) may function as a “Web server” that presents and/orgenerates Web pages which are documents stored on Internet-connectedcomputers accessible via the World Wide Web using protocols such as,e.g., the hyper-text transfer protocol (“HTTP”). Such documentstypically include one or more hyper-text markup language (“HTML”) files,associated graphics, and script files. A Web server allows communicationwith the central controller 102 in a manner known in the art. The gamingdevices 120, 122, 124, 126 and the user terminals 106, 108, 110 may usea Web browser, such as NAVIGATOR® published by NETSCAPE® for accessingHTML forms generated or maintained by or on behalf of the centralcontroller 102 and/or the third-party service provider server 118.

As indicated above, any or all of the central controller 102, thethird-party service provider server 118, the casino servers 112, 114,the gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketer devices 128, 130,and/or the user terminals 106, 108, 110 may include or be part of, e.g.,processor based cash registers, telephones, interactive voice response(IVR) systems such as the ML400-IVR designed by MISSING LINK INTERACTIVEVOICE RESPONSE SYSTEMS, cellular/wireless phones, vending machines,pagers, gaming devices including slot machines, personal computers,portable types of computers, such as a laptop computer, a wearablecomputer, a palm-top computer, a hand-held computer, a smart card,and/or a Personal Digital Assistant (“PDA”). Further details of thecentral controller 102, the third-party service provider server 118, thecasino servers 112, 114, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketerdevices 128, 130, and the user terminals 106, 108, 110 are providedbelow with respect to FIGS. 2 through 8.

As indicated above, in some embodiments of the invention, the centralcontroller 102 (and/or the third-party service provider server 118) mayinclude casino servers 112, 114, and/or user terminals 106, 108, 110.Further, the central controller 102 may communicate with gaming devices120, 122, 124, 126 and players via gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126directly instead of through the casino servers 112, 114. In addition,the central controller 102 may communicate with users directly insteadof through the user terminals 106, 108, 110 or gaming devices 120, 122,124, 126. Although not pictured, the central controller 102, thethird-party service provider server 118, the casino servers 112, 114,gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, the marketer devices 128, 130, and/orthe user terminals 106, 108, 110 may also be in communication with oneor more consumer and/or merchant credit institutions to effecttransactions and may do so directly or via a secure financial networksuch as the Fedwire network maintained by the United States FederalReserve System, the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network, the ClearingHouse Interbank Payments System (CHIPS), or the like.

In operation, the casino servers 112, 114 and/or the user terminals 106,108, 110 may exchange information about the player and the player'spreparation data via the central controller 102. In embodiments with athird-party service provider server 118, the casino servers 112, 114,and/or the user terminals 106, 108, 110 and/or the gaming devices 120,122, 124, 126 may exchange information about the player via thethird-party service provider server 118. The casino servers 112, 114 mayfor example, provide information related to casino features or otherinformation to the central controller 102 (and/or the third-partyservice provider server 118). The user terminals 106, 108, 110 mayprovide user preparation data to the central controller 102 (and/or thethird-party service provider server 118). The central controller 102(and/or the third-party service provider server 118) may provideinformation about players and their preparation data to the casinoservers 112, 114 and also preparation codes to the user terminals 106,108, 110 for later use by players at the gaming devices 120, 122, 124,126 in the casino location. In some embodiments, upon receiving apreparation code from a gaming device 120 or other casino device, acasino server 112 may communicate instructions to the gaming device 120to configure itself according to a stored configuration associated withthe preparation code.

C. Devices

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example of thecentral controller 102 of FIGS. 1A and 1B (and/or an example of athird-party service provider server 118 of FIG. 1B). The centralcontroller 102 is operative to manage the system 100A, 100B and executethe methods of the present invention. The central controller 102 may beimplemented as one or more system controllers, one or more dedicatedhardware circuits, one or more appropriately programmed general purposecomputers, or any other similar electronic, mechanical,electro-mechanical, and/or human operated device. For example, in FIG.1B, the central controller 102 is depicted as coupled to a third-partyservice provider server 118. In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, these twoservers may provide the same functions as the central controller 102alone in the embodiment of FIG. 1A.

The central controller 102 (and/or the third-party service providerserver 118) may include a processor 200, such as one or more Intel®Pentium® processors. The processor 200 may include or be coupled to oneor more clocks or timers (not pictured) and one or more communicationports 202 through which the processor 200 communicates with otherdevices such as the casino servers 112, 114, the user terminals 106,108, 110, the gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, marketer devices 128,130, and/or the third-party service provider server 118. The processor200 is also in communication with a data storage device 204. The datastorage device 204 may include any appropriate combination of magnetic,optical and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, for example,additional processors, communication ports, Random Access Memory(“RAM”), Read-Only Memory (“ROM”), a compact disc and/or a hard disk.The processor 200 and the storage device 204 may each be, for example:(i) located entirely within a single computer or other computing device;or (ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, suchas a serial port cable, a LAN, a telephone line, radio frequencytransceiver, a fiber optic connection or the like. In some embodimentsfor example, the central controller 102 may comprise one or morecomputers (or processors 200) that are connected to a remote servercomputer operative to maintain databases, where the data storage device204 is comprised of the combination of the remote server computer andthe associated databases.

The data storage device 204 stores a program 206 for controlling theprocessor 200. The processor 200 performs instructions of the program206, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention, andparticularly in accordance with the methods described in detail herein.The present invention may be embodied as a computer program developedusing an object oriented language that allows the modeling of complexsystems with modular objects to create abstractions that arerepresentative of real world, physical objects and theirinterrelationships. However, it would be understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art that the invention as described herein can beimplemented in many different ways using a wide range of programmingtechniques as well as general purpose hardware systems or dedicatedcontrollers. The program 206 may be stored in a compressed, uncompiledand/or encrypted format. The program 206 furthermore may include programelements that may be generally useful, such as an operating system, adatabase management system and device drivers for allowing the processor200 to interface with computer peripheral devices. Appropriate generalpurpose program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and neednot be described in detail herein.

Further, the program 206 is operative to execute a number ofinvention-specific modules or subroutines which may include (but are notlimited to) one or more routines to identify a user at a user terminal106, 108, 110 as a potential user of a custom configured gaming device120, 122, 124, 126; one or more routines to receive information about auser; one or more routines to provide casino feature information to auser at a user terminal 106, 108, 110; one or more routines to generatea preparation code and associate it with a player's preparation data;one or more routines to store a player's preparation data; one or moreroutines to securely communicate stored preparation codes and theassociated preparation data to the casino servers 112, 114, one or moreroutines to facilitate and control communications between casino servers112, 114, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, marketer devices 128, 130,user terminals 106, 108, 110, the central controller 102, and/or athird-party service provider server 118; and/or one or more routines tocontrol databases or software objects that track information regardingusers, casinos, merchants, other third-parties, user terminals 106, 108,110, gambling results, preparation data, preparation codes, casinofeatures, gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126, and fulfillment of userrequests. Examples of these routines and their operation are describedin detail below in conjunction with the flowchart depicted in FIG. 14.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the instructionsof the program 206 may be read into a main memory of the processor 200from another computer-readable medium, such from a ROM to a RAM.Execution of sequences of the instructions in the program 206 causesprocessor 200 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry or integrated circuits maybe used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions forimplementation of the processes of the present invention. Thus,embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware, firmware, and/or software.

In addition to the program 206, the storage device 204 is also operativeto store (i) a user database 208, (ii) a trip documentation database210, (iii) a gambling circle database 212, and (iv) a preparationdatabase 214. The databases 208, 210, 212, 214 are described in detailbelow and example structures are depicted with sample entries in theaccompanying figures. As will be understood by those skilled in the art,the schematic illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the sampledatabases presented herein are exemplary arrangements for storedrepresentations of information. Any number of other arrangements may beemployed besides those suggested by the tables shown. For example, eventhough four separate databases are illustrated, the invention could bepracticed effectively using one, two, three, five, or more functionallyequivalent databases. Similarly, the illustrated entries of thedatabases represent exemplary information only; those skilled in the artwill understand that the number and content of the entries can bedifferent from those illustrated herein. Further, despite the depictionof the databases as tables, an object-based model could be used to storeand manipulate the data types of the present invention and likewise,object methods or behaviors can be used to implement the processes ofthe present invention. These processes are described below in detailwith respect to FIG. 14.

Turning to FIG. 3, a block diagram depicting an example a casino server112 includes a processor 300 coupled to a communications port 302, adata storage device 304 that stores a casino server program 306, a localcopy of relevant entries of the user database 308, and a local copy ofrelevant entries of the preparation database 314. In embodiments inwhich, for example, the central controller 102 serves/controls multiplecasinos operated by different entities, a casino may wish to have alocal copy of the portions of the central controller's databases 208,210, 212, 214 that include entries related to that casino and excludeother casinos' access to that casino's information. Thus, the exampleembodiment of a casino server 112 depicts local copies of some of thedatabases 208, 210, 212, 214 to illustrate this point. This redundantconfiguration may provide enhanced system performance by reducingnetwork communications. A casino server program 306 may include one ormore routines to respond to requests from gaming devices 120, 122, 124,126 for preparation data for, in some embodiments, particular playersor, in other embodiments, specified preparation codes. In other words,the local copy of the user database 308 may provide the casino serverprogram 306 with access to information about specific players while thelocal copy of the preparation code database 314 may provide access tothe preparation data. In some embodiments, local copies of the databasesare not stored on the casino server 112 and instead, the casino serverprogram 306 accesses the user database 208 and the preparation database214 stored and maintained on the central controller 102. Likewise, insome embodiments, the database may only exist on the casino server 112and the central controller 102 accesses the casino server 112 for thedata. This distributed configuration may provide enhanced systemsecurity by allowing different casinos to store and maintain their owndatabases.

Turning to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an example user terminal 106 isdepicted. A user terminal 106 according to the present invention mayinclude a processor 400 coupled to a communications port 402, a datastorage device 404 that stores a user terminal program 406, an outputdevice 408, and an input device 412. A user terminal program 406 mayinclude one or more routines to facilitate and control communicationsand interaction with the central controller 102 as well as a userinterface to facilitate communications and interaction with a player.Example display screen images of such a user interface are provided inFIGS. 7 and 8. An optional security device (not pictured) connected tothe processor 400 may provide a facility to support securecommunications via encryption, for example.

In addition, a user terminal 106 may include additional devices tosupport other functions. For example, a user terminal 106 embodied in apersonal computer may additionally include a printing device forgenerating a coupon or a barcode representative of a preparation code.In some embodiments, users may be issued cashless gaming receipts thatthey can print (along with the preparation code) as an incentive tofollow through and come to a sponsoring casino location. In someembodiments, user devices such as PDAs or cell phones may be used inplace of or in addition to user terminals 106, 108, 110. Many differenttypes of input and output devices may be used in conjunction with a userterminal 106. Uses of various different user terminal 106 components arediscussed below in the description of the methods of the presentinvention.

Turning to FIG. 5, a block diagram of an example gaming device 120 isdepicted. In addition to apparatus to support gaming functions, a gamingdevice 120 according to the present invention may include a processor500 coupled to a communications port 502, a data storage device 504 thatstores a gaming device program 506, a display screen 508, a trackingcard reader 510, a user input device 512, and, in some embodiments, aplayer device (not pictured). A gaming device program 506 may includeone or more routines to facilitate and control communications andinteraction with the casino server 112 and/or in some embodiments, aninterface to facilitate communications and interaction with the centralcontroller 102, the third-party service provider server 118, and/or auser terminal 106.

A gaming device 120 according to some embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented in any number of devices such as, forexample, a slot machine, a processor based cash register, a telephone,an IVR system, a cellular/wireless phone, a vending machine, a pager, apersonal computer, a portable computer such as a laptop, a wearablecomputer, a palm-top computer, a hand-held computer, and/or a PDA. Insome embodiments, a user device such as a PDA or cell phone may be usedin place of, or in addition to, some or all of the gaming device 120components depicted in FIG. 5.

In operation, the tracking card reader 510 may be used to identify aplayer to the system 100A, 100B. In some embodiments, the gaming deviceprogram 506 may use the identity of a player determined via the trackingcard reader 210 as an index into a copy of the preparation code database314 residing on the casino server 112. Thus, in some embodiments thegaming device 120 is operable to retrieve a preparation data associatedwith a player using the player's tracking card information. In someembodiments, the gaming device program 506 may be further operative toconfigure the gaming device 120 based on the retrieved preparation data.

Turning to FIG. 6, a block diagram of an example marketer device 128 isdepicted. A marketer device 128 according to the present invention mayinclude a processor 600 coupled to a communications port 602, a datastorage device 604 that stores a marketer device program 606 and aproduct database 608, an input device 610, and an output device 612. Amarketer device program 606 may include one or more routines tofacilitate and control communications and interaction with the centralcontroller 102 as well as a user interface to facilitate communicationsand interaction with a merchant. In some embodiments, a product database608 may be used by a marketer in determining what products to offer auser based upon the preparation data provided by the user.

Turning to FIG. 7, an example embodiment of a preparation menu screen700 as it may be displayed on the output device 408 of a user terminal106 is depicted. The example preparation menu screen 700 includesseveral choices that each lead the user to sub-menus for developingpreparation data. The choices may include “Game Type,” “Look and Feel,”“Financial Returns,” “Contracts,” “Marketing Offers,” “Gambling Circle,”“Travel Arrangements,” “Intentions,” “Comps,” “EnvironmentalConditions,” “Fantasy Prizes,” “Superstition,” “Credit Lines,” “GamblingRules,” and “Scrap Book.” Each of these menu choices are discussed indetail below with respect to the methods of the invention. In someembodiments, a preparation menu screen 700 may be presented to usersoutside a casino while they are operating a user terminal 106 and/or tousers inside a casino while they are operating a gaming device 122 (orany appropriate casino device). In some embodiments, a preparation menuscreen 700 may be implemented as a Web page stored remotely but viewedlocally via a Web browser. In some embodiments, a preparation menuscreen 700 may be implemented as a program that executes locally on auser terminal 106 and/or on a gaming device 122 (or any appropriatecasino device).

Turning to FIG. 8, an example embodiment of a preparation sub-menuscreen 800 is depicted. The particular sub-menu depicted in FIG. 8 is anexample of a screen image that may be presented in response to a userselecting the “Look and Feel” choice from the preparation menu screen700. The preparation sub-menu screen 800 presents five example featureselection controls for indicating (i) a sound level selection (loud,medium, soft), (ii) a font size selection (small, medium, large), (iii)a symbol selection (fruit, jewelry, cars), (iv) a contrast selection(large, medium, small), and (v) a language selection (English, Spanish,German, Japanese, Chinese) for a gaming device 120. In operation, a userterminal 106 (or casino device) executing a browser program may be usedto access a central controller 102 to retrieve a Web page (as depictedin FIG. 8) that presents the above-described feature selection controlsspecific to a particular gaming device 120 available at a casinolocation the player intends to visit. The user may click on one buttonin each of the five feature selection controls to indicate his choice.The user terminal 106 is further operative to communicate the player'sselections and responses to other sub-menu questions (togetherrepresenting preparation data) back to the central controller 102 forstorage in the preparation database 208. In some embodiments, thepreparation data is stored indexed by a preparation code that isprovided to the user via the user terminal 106.

D. Databases

As indicated above, it should be noted that although the exampleembodiment depicted in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6 include five particulardatabases stored in storage devices 204, 304, 604, other databasearrangements may be used which would still be in keeping with the spiritand scope of the present invention. In other words, the presentinvention could be implemented using any number of different databasefiles or data structures, as opposed to the five depicted in FIGS. 2, 3,and 6. Further, the individual database files could be stored ondifferent servers (e.g. located on different storage devices indifferent geographic locations, such as on a third-party serviceprovider server 118). Likewise, the programs 206, 306, 606 could also belocated remotely from the storage devices 204, 304, 604 and/or onanother server. As indicated above, the programs 206, 306, 606 includeinstructions for retrieving, manipulating, and storing data in thedatabases 208, 210, 212, 214, 308, 310, 608 as necessary to perform themethods of the invention as will be further described below.

1. User Database

Turning to FIG. 9, a tabular representation of an embodiment of a userdatabase 208 according to some embodiments of the present invention isillustrated. This particular tabular representation of a user database208 includes sample records or entries which each include informationregarding a particular user. In some embodiments of the invention, auser database 208 is used to track such things as player identity,player financial account information, player demographic information,and player gambling performance information, as well as to associateplayers with preparation codes. Those skilled in the art will understandthat such a user database 208 may include any number of entries oradditional fields.

The particular tabular representation of a user database 208 depicted inFIG. 9 includes seven fields for each of the entries or records. Thefields may include: (i) a user identifier field 900 that stores arepresentation uniquely identifying the user; (ii) a name field 902 thatstores a representation of the user's name; (iii) a financial accountidentifier field 904 that stores a representation of a bank accountnumber, a credit card number, or other financial account informationneeded to charge an account; (iv) a demographic field 906 that stores arepresentation of a description of demographic information about theuser; (v) a machine identifier field 908 that stores a representationuniquely identifying a gaming device 120 upon which the user played;(vi) a lifetime theoretical win field 910 that stores a representationof the user's lifetime theoretical win; and (vii) a preparation codefield 912 that stores a representation of a preparation code associatedwith the user that serves as a pointer into the preparation database214.

The example user database 208 depicted in FIG. 9 provides example datato illustrate the meaning of the information stored in this databaseembodiment. A player identifier 700 (e.g. “P111123”, “P22234”) may beused to identify and index the players listed in the player database610. Two examples of player information are provided: “Sam Brown” withcredit card number “1111-1111-1111-1111” is a “male, age 23” who playedon gaming device “M234” and has a lifetime theoretical win of“$2,345.00” and “Linda Jones” with bank account number“2222-2222-2222-2222” is a “female, age 47” who played on gaming device“M532” and has a lifetime theoretical win of “$765.00.” Sam Brown hasprovided the casino with preparation data that may be retrieved from thepreparation database using the associated preparation code “C8331” andfor Linda Jones, “C5006.”

2. Trip Documentation Database

Turning to FIG. 10, a tabular representation of an embodiment of a tripdocumentation database 210 according to some embodiments of the presentinvention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of atrip documentation database 210 includes sample records or entries whicheach include information regarding a particular user's preparation datathat describe how that user desires his trip to be documented. In someembodiments of the invention, a trip documentation database 210 is usedto track such things as user identity, trip identity, photographs of theuser, recording criteria, and deliverables. Those skilled in the artwill understand that such a trip documentation database 210 may includeany number of entries or additional fields.

The particular tabular representation of a trip documentation database210 depicted in FIG. 10 includes six fields for each of the entries orrecords. The fields may include: (i) a user identifier field 1000 thatstores a representation uniquely identifying the user; (ii) a tripidentifier field 1002 that stores a representation uniquely identifyingthe user's trip to the casino; (iii) a photo identifier field 1004 thatstores representations uniquely identifying each of the photos that havebeen taken of the user during his trip; (iv) an outcome identifier field1006 that stores representations uniquely identifying each of the user'soutcomes that have been recorded during his trip; (v) a recordingcriteria field 1008 that stores a representation of a description ofwhat the player has requested to document during the trip; and (vi) adeliverable field 1010 that stores a representation of the form ofpresentation of the trip documentation the player has requested.

The example trip documentation database 210 depicted in FIG. 10 providesexample data to illustrate the meaning of the information stored in thisdatabase embodiment. A user identifier 1000 (e.g. P111666; P222777;P333888; P444999) may be used to relate users to their particular tripdocumentation preparation data. A trip identifier 1002 (e.g. T222222;T333333; T444444; T555555) may be used to specify a user's particulartrip when, for example, a user visits a casino more than once.

A photo identifier 1004 (e.g. Ph100000, Ph100001, Ph100999; Ph200002,Ph200010; Ph300333; N/A) may be used to reference all the photographs acasino has taken of a user based on the recording criteria 1008 (e.g.“Take a picture when I win more than $10”; “Take a picture every hour”;“Take a picture when I win $100 or more, and overlay a shot of the slotscreen”). The deliverable 1010 for a photo recording criteria 1008 maybe, for example, a photo “album with 100 pictures”; an “embossed albumwith 300 pictures”; a photo “album with 100 pictures”; or “5 T-shirtswith pictures.”

An outcome identifier 1006 (e.g. OC123456; OC500001, OC500002, OC500003)may be used to reference all the user's outcomes that a casino hasrecorded based on the recording criteria 1008 (e.g. “Take a picture whenI win $100 or more, and overlay a shot of the slot screen”; “Record allmy outcomes”). The deliverable 1010 for an outcome recording criteria1008 may be, for example, a “software program that reenacts alloutcomes.”

3. Gambling Circle Database

Turning to FIG. 11, a tabular representation of an embodiment of agambling circle database 212 according to some embodiments of thepresent invention is illustrated. This particular tabular representationof a gambling circle database 212 includes sample records or entrieswhich each include information regarding a member of a particular user'sgambling circle. In some embodiments of the invention, a gambling circledatabase 212 is used to track such things as gambling circle members'identity, contact information, and benefits, as well as to associateplayers with their gambling circle members. Note that a gambling circlemay include any number of members. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that such a gambling circle database 212 may include anynumber of entries or additional fields.

The particular tabular representation of a gambling circle database 212depicted in FIG. 11 includes six fields for each of the entries orrecords. The fields may include: (i) a user identifier field 1100 thatstores a representation uniquely identifying the user; (ii) abeneficiary identifier field 1102 that stores a representation uniquelyidentifying a member of the user's gambling circle as a beneficiary ofthe user's gambling; (iii) a name field 1104 that stores arepresentation of the beneficiary's name; (iv) an email field 1106 and(v) an address field 1108 that store a representation of thebeneficiary's contact information; and (vi) a benefit field 1110 thatstores a representation of the benefit that the beneficiary will receiveif any.

The example gambling circle database 212 depicted in FIG. 11 providesexample data to illustrate the meaning of the information stored in thisdatabase embodiment. Referring to the first record, as part of hispreparation data, user “P555555” has specified “B111111,” who is morecommonly known as “Adam Finsky,” as a member of the user's gamblingcircle and a beneficiary of “5% of any jackpot above $1000” that theuser wins. Adam Finsky has the email address adam@aol.com and lives in“Anyplace, USA.”

Referring to the second record, as part of his preparation data, user“P666666” has specified “B222222,” who is more commonly known as “LauraTanner,” as a member of the user's gambling circle and a beneficiary of“5% of net winnings” that the user wins. Laura Tanner has the emailaddress ltanner@ibm.com and lives in “Someplace, USA.”

Referring to the third record, as part of his preparation data, user“P777777” has specified “B333333,” who is more commonly known as “JackTinsel,” as a member of the user's gambling circle and a beneficiary of“buffet for every $200 gross winnings” that the user wins. Jack Tinselhas the email address tinsel@home.com and lives in “Somewhere; USA.”

4. Preparation Database

Turning to FIG. 12, a tabular representation of an embodiment ofpreparation database 214 according to some embodiments of the presentinvention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of apreparation database 214 includes three sample records or entries whicheach include information regarding a particular user's preparation data.In some embodiments of the invention, a preparation database 214 is usedto track information descriptive of user specified preferences,intentions, and/or plans related to the user's gambling vacation. In thespecific example depicted in FIG. 12, the preparation database isstructured to store and track user specified preferences related togaming device configurations such as the game type, default denominationof play, language, currency, noise level, and font size. It should beunderstood that other data structures, such as the gambling circledatabase 212 and the trip documentation database 210 described above,may be used to track other forms and types of preparation data. Thoseskilled in the art will understand that a preparation database 214 mayinclude any number of entries or additional fields.

The particular tabular representation of a preparation database 214depicted in FIG. 12 includes nine fields for each of the entries orrecords. The fields may include: (i) a preparation code field 1200 thatstores a representation uniquely identifying a particular customizedconfiguration; (ii) a game type field 1202 that stores a representationof the selected game type; (iii) a denomination field 1204 that stores arepresentation of the selected default denomination that the gamingdevice will accept; (iv) a language field 1206 that stores arepresentation of the selected language to be used by the gaming device;(iv) a currency field 1208 that stores a representation of the selectedcurrency to be used by the gaming device; (v) a noise level field 1210that stores a representation of a description of a sound effects volumeof the gaming device; (vi) a font size field 1212 that stores arepresentation of the size that characters will be displayed on thegaming device; (vii) a picture title/picture field 1214 that stores thename of a picture and the picture itself that the player would like tobe displayed when he hits a jackpot (and/or any winning outcome); and(viii) a music title/music field 1216 that stores a representation ofthe name of music and the music itself that the player would like to beplayed when he hits a jackpot (and/or any winning outcome).

The example preparation database 214 of FIG. 12 provides example data toillustrate the meaning of the information stored in this databaseembodiment. A preparation code 800 (i.e. C5006, C9224, C8331) may beused to identify and index preparation data received from users.Examples of game types include reel slots, video poker, and blackjack.Example denominations include $1.00, $0.25, and $5.00. Example languagesinclude English and Japanese, and example currencies include the USdollar and the yen. Example noise levels include high, medium, and lowand example font sizes include medium, small and large. Example picturesinclude an image of a user's poodle, an image of another user'sgrandson, and an image of yet another user's hamster. Example musicincludes “Macarena,” “My Way,” and “Beethoven's 9^(th).”

5. Product Database

Turning now to FIG. 13, a tabular representation of an embodiment of aproduct database 608 according to some embodiments of the presentinvention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of aproduct database 608 includes sample records or entries which eachinclude information regarding a particular product that may be used in amarketing promotion. In some embodiments of the invention, a productdatabase 608 is used by a marketer in determining what product to offera user in different marketing offers. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that such a product database 608 may include any number ofentries or additional fields.

The particular tabular representation of a product database 608 depictedin FIG. 13 includes five fields for each of the entries or records. Thefields may include: (i) a product identifier field 1300 that stores arepresentation uniquely identifying the product; (ii) a descriptionfield 1302 that stores a representation that is descriptive of theproduct; (iii) a manufacturer field 1304 that stores a representation ofthe name of the manufacturer or supplier of the product; (iv) a retailprice field 1306 that stores a representation of a retail price of theproduct; and (v) an excess inventory field 1308 that stores arepresentation of the number of units of the product available for usewith marketing offers.

The example product database 608 depicted in FIG. 13 provides exampledata to illustrate the meaning of the information stored in thisdatabase embodiment. A product identifier 1300 (e.g. “PR888”; “PR999”;“PR222”; “PR333”) may be used to identify and index the products listedin the product database 608. Four example entries of product informationare provided: (i) “45” “eight-speed blender[s]” with an “$80” retailprice and manufactured by “Anycorp” Inc. are available for use withmarketing offers; (ii) “0” “washing machine[s]” with an “$800” retailprice and manufactured by “Somecorp” Inc. are available for use withmarketing offers; (iii) “90” “color TV[s]” with a “$200” retail priceand manufactured by “Bigcorp” Inc. are available for use with marketingoffers; and (iv) an “unlimited” number of “6 month cable service”subscriptions with an “$180” retail price and provided by “XYZBroadcasting” Inc. are available for use with marketing offers.

6. Casino Database

Although not illustrated with a detailed example, some embodiments ofthe present invention may include a casino database that may reside on acasino server 112 and/or a central controller 102. A casino database maybe used to store the unique configurable features of a particular casinowhere there are multiple different types of options such as, forexample, multiple different types of gaming devices 120, 122, 124, 126.For example, such a database might list the different configurablefeatures for each type of game at a particular casino possibly indexedby machine identifier and then each of the possible values for eachfeature. A casino database may be used as a data source to assemble, forexample, a Web page that looks like the screen image of FIG. 8.Alternatively, the same screen image could be generated without a casinodatabase. However, where there are many different options available,using a casino database may reduce and simplify the resources requiredto generate screen images similar to that of FIG. 8.

e. process descriptions

The system discussed above, including the hardware components and thedatabases, are useful to perform the methods of the invention. However,it should be understood that not all of the above described componentsand databases are necessary to perform any of the present invention'smethods. In fact, in some embodiments, none of the above describedsystem is required to practice the invention's methods. The systemdescribed above is an example of a system that would be useful inpracticing the invention's methods. For example, the user database 210described above is useful for tracking users and information about them,but it is not absolutely necessary to have such a database in order toperform the methods of the invention. In other words, the methodsdescribed below may be practiced using a conventional player trackinglist in conjunction with a casino's conventional accounting system.

Referring to FIG. 14, a flow chart is depicted that represents someembodiments of the present invention that may be performed by thecentral controller 102 (FIGS. 1A and 1B), an external third-party,and/or an integrated third-party entity/device such as a third-partyservice provider server 118. It must be understood that the particulararrangement of elements in the flow chart of FIG. 14, as well as theorder of example steps of various methods discussed herein, is not meantto imply a fixed order, sequence, and/or timing to the steps;embodiments of the present invention can be practiced in any order,sequence, and/or timing that is practicable.

In general terms and referring to FIG. 14, method steps of an embodimentof the present invention may be summarized as follows. In Step S1, thecentral controller 102 receives configuration or preparation data from aplayer at a user terminal 106. In Step S2, a preparation code associatedwith the configuration data is determined. In Step S3, the configurationdata and the associated preparation code are transmitted from thecentral controller 102 to a casino server 112. In Step S4, the centralcontroller 102, or another device, provides feedback to the user.

In some embodiments, the feedback may include the casino server 112configuring and/or operating a gaming or other casino device. In someembodiments, the casino server 112 may configure and/or operate a gamingor other casino device in response to receiving a preparation code froma user via the gaming or other casino device. In such an embodiment, thegaming or other casino device is configured according to theconfiguration data associated with the received preparation code.

In the subsections that follow, each of these steps will now bediscussed in greater detail. Note that not all of these steps arerequired to perform the method of the present invention and thatadditional and/or alternative steps are also discussed below. Also notethat the above general steps represent features of only some of theembodiments of the present invention and that they may be combinedand/or subdivided in any number of different ways so that the methodincludes more or fewer actual steps. For example, in some embodimentsmany additional steps may be added to update and maintain the databasesdescribed above, but as indicated, it is not necessary to use the abovedescribed databases in all embodiments of the invention. In other words,the methods of the present invention may contain any number of stepsthat are practicable to implement the processes described herein.

1. Step S1: Receive Configuration Data from a User Terminal

In some embodiments, the user may initially submit preparation data (orconfiguration data) to the system 100A, 100B. In some embodiments, theuser may log onto the central controller 102 with a user terminal 106,for example, using a personal computer. As indicated above, othersuitable user terminals 106 may include personal digital assistants,telephones, kiosks, ATMs, slot machines, and/or vending machinesincluding such devices as gasoline pumps and point-of-sale terminals.

The user may interact with a Web site hosted by the central controller102. To log on, the user may input a name, password, code, and/or otheridentifier. The user may then input preparation data in various ways. Insome embodiments, the user selects preparation data from a number ofmenus, each menu covering a different subject (as illustrated in FIGS. 7and 8 and described in the accompanying text). For example, within the“Look and Feel” category, a first menu may allow a user to select agaming device's game, font size, reel speed, language, volume, and otherattributes pertaining to the look and feel of the device. A second menumight allow a user to provide information about himself so as to receivetailored marketing offers at the gaming device. Menus might take theform of pull-down menus, check boxes, and so on. Menus might listheadings for preparation data and allow a user to enter the data. Forexample, a heading may be “Font Size” and in response the user may typein “12” for “12 point.” Many other menu systems are possible.

In some embodiments, a user may enter preparation in text form. The textmay then be interpreted by a human operator and/or by a computerprogram.

In some embodiments, a user may create or alter graphics as a means ofinputting preparation data. For example, the controller's Web site maypresent a graphical depiction of a screen on a gaming device. Using hismouse, the user may delineate a portion of the screen in which toreceive marketing offers, and another portion of the screen in which toplay the game. The user may use his mouse to delineate areas of thescreen that are to serve as new input buttons to the gaming device. Forexample, the user might designate a small, square area on the slotscreen to be an “I accept” button, for use in accepting marketingoffers.

The following sub-sections describe several different categories ofpreparation data the user may designate. The list is not intended to bean exhaustive enumeration of every possible category of preparationdata, but rather an illustrative set of examples of types of preparationdata.

(i) Information about the User and the Marketing Offers the User Desires

Many companies are constantly trying to acquire new customers tofacilitate growth. One effective means of acquiring a customer is for acompany to pay a user for his business. For example, a phone companymight pay a user $25.00 if the user agrees to make the phone company hislong distance provider. Such a deal may be beneficial to the phonecompany, since the lifetime value of the customer to the company may farexceed the $25.00 acquisition cost.

A casino is a fertile environment for customer acquisition. Gamingdevices 106 are capable of immediately dispensing money to consumers.Therefore, a user who is at a gaming device may agree to do businesswith a company and then may immediately receive his payment, rather thanwaiting a week or more for a check to arrive in the mail. Furthermore,casino patrons are often especially motivated to make deals for money. Auser may be feeling frustrated from having sustained a loss, forexample, and may wish to recover the loss by accepting a marketingoffer. The casino itself may be content to facilitate such transactionsbetween users and marketers because the transactions put more availablepotential wager funds in the hands of users. This also pleases users.

Thus, a portion of a user's preparation data may pertain to a user'sinteraction with marketers. Users may submit information that a marketermight use to tailor offers to a user. Examples of such informationinclude the user's age, place of residence, income, job type, educationlevel, marital status, number of children, and other demographicinformation. User purchasing history may be valuable to a marketer. Forexample, a marketer selling cars would want to know whether the userbuys a new car every three years. Other such questions may include “Doesthe user like to remodel rooms in his house?” or “What type of food doesthe user like?” User possessions may be relevant to marketers. Forexample, does the user currently own a car?, a washing machine?, or awide screen TV? A user's budget is meaningful. For example, marketerswould want to know how much money a user has to spend on new items.Whether the user is accompanied on his vacation may be relevant. Forexample, if a user's spouse is with him on the vacation, a marketer maypitch goods as gifts for the user's spouse.

Other preparation data may include the circumstances under which a userwould like to receive marketing offers. Possible circumstances include:the user has just won a payout in excess of a certain threshold; theuser has accumulated winnings in excess of a certain threshold; the userhas sustained losses in excess of a certain threshold; the user has justinserted a bill, such as a $100 bill, into a gaming device; a particulartime of day occurs, for example, the clock has struck noon and the userwould like lunch offers from local restaurants; it is a particular date;particular weather conditions have transpired; and the user just presseda button or otherwise indicated that he desires a marketing offer. Inthis last case, preparation data may include a specification of how auser will indicate his desire for a marketing offer. For example, theuser may be instructed to pull the handle of the gaming device twice inrapid succession. The user might also request a special area on a gamingdevice's touch screen to appear as a “marketing button” that the usermight touch in order to receive marketing pitches or offers. Anadditional relevant circumstance might be when an event or occurrencehas not just happened. For example, a user may be comfortable receivingoffers at any time except when he has just won on the last three handlepulls or hit a jackpot.

Still other preparation data might include the types of offers a userwould like to receive. Types of offers may include: offers for certaincategories of products, for example, the user would like to receiveoffers for new refrigerators, new blenders, or used lawn mowers; offerswithin a certain price range, for example, the user would like marketersto offer to sell the user items with prices between $100 and $200;offers for products versus services, for example, the user may preferonly offers to sell products, or only offers to sell services; andoffers providing a certain benefit. The user may prefer offers thatprovide him with benefits of at least $20. For example, the user may beoffered a benefit of $30 for switching long distance phone services toAT&T.

The user may commit in advance to accept marketing offers providedcertain conditions are met. For example, the user will switch phoneservices to receive $30 in credits if he loses $30 at a gaming device.Otherwise, the user need not switch phone services.

The user may specify where benefits from offers should be placed. Thebenefits might be put directly onto a user's credit balance at a gamingdevice 120. Benefits might also be deposited directly to a user'sfinancial account. Benefits might be sent directly to a user's home orwork address in the form of cash, check, or non-monetary prize. Benefitsmay be placed directly into a user's account at a casino or at thecentral controller 102.

Preparation data may further include how the user will indicate, at agaming device 120, his desire to receive marketing offers. A specialarea of a touch screen on a gaming device may be designated formarketing offers. When the user touches that area, he receives amarketing offer. Alternatively, an existing button on a gaming devicethat the user does not use may have its function reassigned to that of amarketing button. For example, the “bet maximum credits” button maybecome the marketing button for a particular user.

A marketer may transmit offers to a user in a number of ways. Themarketer may leave offers with the central controller 102, to be latertransmitted to users with qualifying characteristics. The marketer maythen compensate the central controller 102 for every offer made, forevery offer accepted, etc. In some embodiments, the marketer maycommunicate with a user in real time via the central controller 102. Themarketer may have real-time access data about users currently at gamingdevices 120 or at user terminals 106, and may then make its owndeterminations as to when to make offers. In offering products to auser, the marketer may refer to a product database 608. The marketer mayselect from the database products that are priced appropriately for auser, that meet other user criteria, and/or that have excess inventory.

(ii) Information of a Psychological or Superstitious Nature

There is much superstition associated with gaming devices 120. Forexample, gaming devices may be known as “hot” when they have recentlypaid out more than they have taken in. Similarly, gaming devices 120that have not paid out recently may be called “cold.” Users may wish toknow which gaming devices 120 are hot so that they can play on the hotdevices. The user may also wish to know what types of people have goodluck on particular gaming devices, so that the user may find a gamingdevice that best suits him. For example, if a user is a 56 year-oldfemale born in February, then she may wish to find a gaming device thathas previously paid a jackpot to a 56 year-old female born in February.Further, users might wish to know about prior winners at a gamingdevice. For example, they might want to know a prior winner's name; age;date of birth; time of birth; place of birth; astrological sign (e.g.Scorpio, Aries); place of residence; nationality; gender; race; numberof kids; date and time on which they won; etc.

A user might have particular statistics in mind when looking for agaming device 120. For example, if a gaming device 120 has paid well forat least five Scorpios in the last week, then perhaps the gaming device120 is likely to be profitable for another Scorpio. The user may thenenter what statistics he finds desirable into the Web site of thecentral controller 102. To enter statistics, the user may fill in a formon the central controller's Web page. A line on the form might read,“Find me a machine that paid out a jackpot on this date.” The user maythen fill in the desired date.

The central controller 103 may search a database of gaming devicestatistics to find any that meet user criteria. If there are any suchgaming devices 120, the central controller 103 may display informationabout them to the user. For example, the central controller 103 maydisplay the gaming devices' location, appearance, and any referencenumber. The central controller 103 may also display one or more maps soas to guide the user to the gaming devices 120. A map might show, forexample, the layout of a casino floor, with relevant gaming devices 120highlighted. A user might elect to be shown a map of all machines thathad not had a jackpot of $1000.00 or more in the last 24 hours. Anothermap might show the location of the casino in a city. Of course, thecentral controller 102 may be configured to display only machineslocated in a city where a user intends to visit, even if other machinessatisfy user criteria.

At times, there may be a large number of gaming devices 120 meeting theuser's criteria. The central controller 103 may encourage the user toenter additional criteria, or to narrow existing criteria so as tonarrow down the number of machines. At other times, the user's criteriamay not be met, and the central controller 102 may encourage the user tobroaden his criteria. The central controller 102 may also display to theuser gaming devices 120 that it considers close to meeting the user'scriteria. Perhaps the gaming devices 120 meet nine out of ten usercriteria.

In displaying gaming devices 120 to users, the central controller 102may give priority to devices at casinos that have paid the centralcontroller 102 more money. For example, if a first casino has paid thecontroller $0.02 per listing, and a second casino has paid thecontroller nothing, then a user may see gaming devices 120 from thefirst casino listed before machines from the second casino.

Rather than entering criteria for gaming devices 120 the user would liketo play, the user might enter pertinent information about himself andallow the central controller 102 to find potentially suitable gamingdevices 120. For example, the user might enter his own name, birth date,wedding date, college graduation date, gender, astrological sign,child's birth date, license plate number, and so on. The centralcontroller 102 might then search for devices that have paid well forpeople with similar characteristics to the user. For example, thecentral controller 102 might search for devices that have paid more than$1000 on a single handle pull to a person with the same wedding date,within the past week. The central controller 102 might also search fordevices with similar characteristics to the user. For example, thecentral controller 102 might look for devices whose date of manufactureor whose serial number is the same as the user's birthday.

In some embodiments, a central controller 102 receives user information,but does not provide the user with information about a suitable gamingdevice 120 until significantly later. For example, if the user isplanning a trip to Atlantic City three months in advance, it might notbe relevant to the user what gaming devices 120 are paying well at themoment. Therefore, just before the user is to leave for Atlantic City,the central controller 102 may tell the user what gaming devices 120 paywell, so that the user can leave with current information.

If the user aims to win money so as to buy particular merchandise, thenthe central controller 102 may allow the user to play directly for themerchandise he desires. For example, when the user plays at a gamingdevice 120, one of the payouts may be made in the form of the user'sdesired merchandise, rather than in the form of credits. Alternatively,the user may be told he can have his desired merchandise by accumulatinga certain number of credits while playing at a gaming device 120. Thenumber of credits a user needs may be far less then the retail price ofthe desired merchandise. The user may also be able to obtain his desiredmerchandise using complimentary points, even if the casino at which theuser plays does not typically give out the user's desired merchandise.

(iii) Music and Pictures of Subjects of Sentimental Value to the User

A user may remotely input pictures or music. For example, the user mayscan a picture of himself, his grandson, and/or of his pet poodle. Theuser might use a scanner attached to the user terminal. Then, when theuser is at a gaming device, the user may select previously scannedpictures to display on the gaming device. For example, the user mayselect the picture of his poodle to display above the spinning slotreels. The user may even have his poodle incorporated as one of thesymbols on the slot reels. To facilitate the selection of pictures bythe user, the gaming device might display small versions of each picturethe user has scanned. The user need then only touch the picture to haveit enlarged and more clearly made visible. Alternatively, the user mightprovide names for the pictures he scans, such as “Poodle.gif”. The usermight then select this name from a list of names displayed on the gamingdevice, or he might simply type in the name using a keypad or otherinput device.

Other means are possible for transmitting user-selected images to thecentral controller. Many film developers post copies of pictures to Websites. A user might obtain a copy of a picture he has taken from a filmdeveloper's Web site, and send it to the central controller. In somecases, the central controller may act as a film developer. A user mightthen be motivated to develop all of his pictures with the centralcontroller, as the user would then be able to view the pictures on thescreen of a gaming device while playing.

In some embodiments, a user submits printed photographs to the centralcontroller via postal mail. The central controller may then scan thepictures and make them available for display on the user's gamingdevice. A user may also bring photographs or negatives of photographs toa casino. The casino can then scan or develop the pictures and have themdigitized and ready for display on a gaming device.

While at a gaming device, a user may desire to view pictures other thanthose he has taken. He may therefore scan pictures from books ormagazines, or obtain pictures from the Web. He may then transmit theseto the central controller.

To input music remotely, a user has a number of options. The user mayobtain a sound file, such as an MP3 from a Web site, such as MP3.com.The user may then transmit the sound file to the central controller. Thecontroller can then store the sound file in the preparation database214. The user may also record his own music using a microphone attachedto his user terminal He may then transmit the digitized music to thecentral controller.

The central controller, a casino server, a casino, or a gaming devicemay filter out pictures or sound files deemed inappropriate. Computerprograms may examine pictures or sound files and compare them topre-established criteria in deciding whether to permit their use at agaming device. Alternatively, humans may act as censors. Certainpictures or sound files may be permissible only under certainconditions. For example, a sound file may only be permissible if theuser employs earphones, or if there is no one else in the vicinity.

(iv) Money Held in Reserve to Offset User Losses

A common fear among users is losing too much money at a casino. When theuser runs out of money with which to gamble, the user may become bored.The user may also feel regret, embarrassment, or may even experiencefinancial difficulties. Therefore, in some embodiments of thisinvention, the user may take steps to reduce the possibility ofsuffering excessive losses at a casino.

In some embodiments, the user performs work prior to visiting thecasino. As compensation for his work, the user may receive insuranceagainst losses. For example, in exchange for doing 5 hours worth ofwork, the user may be told, “If you lose $100, we'll replace your $100so that you'll be even again.” The insurance might be capped at acertain amount. The insurance might cover a percentage of losses. Theinsurance might also cover losses incurred only during certain timeperiods, or only at certain games. Other benefits for work may include:cash; credits; gambling tokens; reward points; increased odds ofwinning; increased prize tables; the ability to play dollar machines fora quarter; the free use of an extra slot in a multi-slot machine; theability to play for free; the enablement of extra prize-winning symbolson a slot machine; the enablement of extra pay lines on the slotmachine; and auxiliary benefits, such as free or subsidized meals orhotel rooms.

The user may perform work via the Internet. For example, the user maymonitor the output of a security camera and send an email alert when heviews any suspicious activity. The user thereby acts as a remotesecurity guard. The user may answer survey questions of importance tomarketers. The user may participate in focus groups online. The user maymake visual comparisons of products and provide input on which has thebetter packaging. The user may perform his work using a Web site hostedby the central controller. The central controller may thereby monitorthe user's work, and provide the user with benefits accordingly. In someembodiments, the user does work on a separate Web site. The Web site maybe hosted by a merchant associated with the central controller. Afterperforming work, the user may receive a code from the Web site andsubmit the code to the central controller in order to receive credit forhis work. Alternatively, the merchant may contact the central controllerdirectly, and inform the central controller of the user's work.

The user may also perform work off-line. For example, the user may workto assist consumers at a department store. The user may then receive acode from the department store, submit the code to the centralcontroller, and thus receive credit for the work he accomplished.

Instead of doing work, the user may receive insurance against losses, orother benefits, by agreeing to deals with merchants. For example, theuser may agree to switch long distance phone services, or may agree topurchase a new car insurance policy. In exchange, the user may receivemoney that can be used to offset losses at a casino. In someembodiments, a user receives automatic benefits at a casino simply bydoing business with a merchant. For example, for every dollar the userspends at Wal-Mart®, the user may receive three cents worth of insuranceagainst losses.

In many cases, a user may have earned money in an account that can beused only to reimburse a user for his losses. The user may, however,visit the casino and win. It is then possible that the user might putthe money in the account to other uses. For example, the user might beable to collect a percentage of the money in the account. The user mightbe able to apply money in the account towards the purchase ofmerchandise, food, a hotel room, gambling credits or other goods.

(v) User Credit Lines

Often, a user comes to a casino without sufficient cash to pay for thechips he wants. One option is for the user to go to an Automatic TellerMachine (ATM) or a cash advance machine. However, for some users, creditlimits or daily withdrawal limits don't allow them to withdraw as muchmoney as they would like. Therefore, a user may establish a credit lineat the casino and draw a marker against the credit line. To take out amarker, a user may call up a casino in advance and request a credit linewith the casino. The user will typically have to submit some informationabout himself, including a player tracking card number and checkingaccount information. When the user arrives at the casino he may thenpresent a voided check and several forms of identification. Once thecasino grants the user a line of credit, the user can request a marker.A marker is a legally binding document, signed by the user, that theuser will repay the casino for any chips given the user to play with. Ifthe user does not repay, then the casino can cash the marker at a bankas if it were a check.

In some embodiments of this invention, the user may set up credit linesremotely using the Web site of the central controller. The user mayinput information of relevance to a casino in granting a credit line.Such information may include a name, home address, telephone number,email address, bank name, checking account number, amount of money inthe checking account, citizenship, desired amount of credit, and so on.In some embodiments, the player also inputs the amount owed to othercasinos.

This information may then be sent to a casino credit executive who maybegin to decide whether to grant the credit line or not. Alternatively,user information may be examined by an automated program. The programmay then help to decide whether or not the credit line should begranted. In some embodiments, the casino credit executive or thecontroller may check with Central Credit® to determine the user's credithistory with other casinos. If the user is listed by Central Credit® asa poor credit risk, then the user may not be granted a credit line.

In some embodiments, the central controller may act as the entity thatprovides credit. The central controller may grant a credit line to auser. The user may then draw a marker at a casino. The casino may thenbe compensated immediately by the central controller in the amount ofthe marker. Then, when a user repays the amount of the marker, thecasino can repay the central controller. The casino may pay a fee to thecentral controller for taking the risk.

Another way for a user to ensure sufficient funds for play at a casinois to wire money in advance to the casino. The user may wire money usingthe Web site of the central controller by providing the centralcontroller with financial account information destination information,and an amount of money to be transferred.

(vi) Look and Feel of the Gaming Device

Prior to visiting a casino, the user may enter data describing adesirable machine interface. Aspects of the machine's interface mayinclude font size, reel speed, language, screen resolution, length ofthe bonus rounds, amount of time between an initiation of a handle pulland the resolution of the outcome, types of symbols, and so on. Eachaspect of the machine's interface may be selectable from a menu, or maybe inputted by the user in a box on the central controller's Web site.Numerous gaming devices are general purpose in that the game played andthe interface to the game played on the gaming device are coded insoftware. Thus, many gaming devices have the flexibility to provide auser with his desired interface.

(vii) Which Gaming Devices the User would Like to Play

Using the Web site of the central controller, the user may have theopportunity to test different gaming device configurations, anddifferent gaming devices themselves. In some embodiments, the userselects a gaming device configuration, and then the central controllerdisplays a graphical representation of the gaming device in the selectedconfiguration. For example, if the user has selected a gaming deviceconfiguration with five reels and three pay lines, then the user mayview on the user terminal a graphical representation of a five reelgaming device with three pay lines. The user may simulate spins on hisuser terminal, with a simulated credit meter incrementing anddecrementing based on simulated outcomes. By testing various gamingdevice configurations in advance, the user has the opportunity to seewhich configurations are pleasing to the senses. The user also candetermine which configurations are lucky for him. Once the user hasfound a desired configuration, the central controller may indicate tothe user where he might find actual gaming devices capable of supportingthe desired configuration. For instance the central controller mightshow the user a map of a country, state, city, or casino floor, withrelevant gaming devices or locations highlighted. The central controllermay also provide the user with written directions to a gaming device.

On the controller's Web site, the user may also take the opportunity totest new games he otherwise would never have played. For example, atraditional mechanical reel player may test a video slot machine. Or areel player may test a video poker or blackjack machine. In fact, thecentral controller may encourage and reward the user for trying games hedoes not usually play. For example, the central controller may offer theuser a voucher for a free meal at a particular restaurant if the userplays a new word-bonus game for an hour on the central controller's Website. Familiarizing a user with new games is advantageous for a casino,because the user is then comfortable playing a number of games at thecasino, and is less likely to leave if one of the games no longer suitshim. Therefore, casinos may compensate the central controller for anybenefits given a user for testing new games.

After testing gaming device configurations, or new gaming devices on thecontroller's Web site, the user may reserve a gaming device to use at acasino. By making a reservation, the user may assure that he mayapproach a particular gaming device at an appointed time and find it notin use by other users. Thus, a reserved gaming device may freeze andunlock only for a particular user. However, if the user does not unlockthe gaming device within a certain time period, then the device maybecome available to other users. The user may commit money so as toreserve a gaming device. The money may be an outright payment, or it maybecome part of a user's credit balance when the user appears at thegaming device. The user may forfeit part of the money if he does notappear at the reserved time. A reservation may also be linked to a hotelreservation. For example, part of a user's reservation package at acasino resort may be a room for three nights and a particular gamingdevice for three days from 3:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

A user may also test new games that have not yet been placed on casinofloors. The user may provide feedback on these games. The user'sfeedback may allow a gaming device manufacturer to make a decision onwhether to move forward with the production of a game. Feedback may alsohelp a casino to decide whether or not to purchase certain gamingdevices. The user may be compensated for his feedback on new games. Forexample, the user may earn the privilege of being the first to play anew gaming device when it is introduced onto a casino floor.

(viii) Financial Returns of the Gaming Device

Prior to visiting a casino, the user may enter preparation datadescribing the way money is paid out from a gaming device. The user mayspecify such parameters as a frequency with which the device pays, thehold percentage, the size of the jackpot, the size of lesser payouts,the frequency with which particular payouts occur, and so on. The userwill not necessarily get everything he asks for. For example, the usermay not be allowed to have a gaming device configured to pay back morethan 100%. The central controller may adjust certain parameters based onother parameters the user chooses. For example, if the user desires ahigh payout frequency, then the central controller may lower the odds ofhitting a jackpot and increase the odds of hitting a low payout. Thus,the hold percentage of the machine may be held constant. If the userattempts to enter parameters that would force the machine to pay backmore then 100% of coin-in, then the user may be prevented from doing so.For example, selection boxes on the central controller's Web site may begrayed out or disabled.

In some embodiments, the user may submit preparation data to configure agaming device to pay back more than 100% of coin in. In such cases, theuser may have to pay or may have to accept a marketing offer. The usermay also be time-limited in his use of the gaming device under thespecified configuration.

The user may also remotely indicate the types of bets he would like tomake at a gaming device. The types of bets may not be ones that arecurrently enabled by a gaming device. For example, a user might wish tobet on the occurrence of an outcome that does not pay (i.e. a losingoutcome). Then, if a normally losing outcome occurs, the user mayreceive a small pay out. The user may wish to bet on five cherriesoccurring within three consecutive spins, on obtaining a winning outcomefor threes spins in a row, on obtaining a bar on the middle reel, etc.There are, in fact, an infinite number of statistics describing theoutcomes of a gaming device, for which no bets exist.

When the user creates a non-standard bet, the central controller maycalculate the odds of the user winning his bet, and may then determinean appropriate pay out for winning the bet. For example, a gaming devicemay determine that the odds of five cherries occurring within threeparticular consecutive spins are 21 to 1 against. To provide the casinowith an advantage, the controller may determine that a 20 to 1 pay outis appropriate for a bet on the occurrence of five cherries in threeparticular consecutive spins.

(ix) The User Interface

A typical gaming device may have only a few limited mechanisms for userinput. A device might have physical buttons, with labels such as “bet 1credit”, “bet maximum credits”, “cash out”, “hold”, and “spin”. Thephysical buttons may be replicated on a touch screen, so that a usermight touch either a physical button or the touch screen of a gamingdevice in order to accomplish a particular function. However, topractice some embodiments of the present invention, or for otherreasons, a user may require a richer interface to the gaming device. Forexample, the user may prefer to bet 7 credits on every handle pull of agaming device. Rather than pressing the “bet 1 credit” button 7 times,the user might desire a special button reading “bet 7 credits”.Therefore, using the Web site of the central controller, the user maycreate a desired user interface for a gaming device. The following is apartial list of other buttons a user may create for use in interactingwith the gaming device.

-   -   Marketing buttons, such as “Give me an offer” or “Accept offer.”        These allow a user to receive and accept marketing offers so as        to receive more gambling funds, insurance against losses, good        deals, etc.    -   Buttons to make a particular type of bet, or a bet for a        particular number of credits. For example, a button might place        a bet on a particular character in the bonus round of a        Monopoly™ game landing on a particular property. A button might        place a bet on a losing outcome occurring.    -   A button to cash out only a particular number or a particular        percentage of credits. For instance, a user may wish to cash out        only enough credits to tip a waitress.    -   A button to undo whatever the last action was. Perhaps the user        hit the “bet maximum credits” button by mistake, but has not yet        made a handle pull. The user may wish to undo his last action        and only bet 2 credits.    -   A button to redo a previous bet, game, or action. Perhaps the        user's last bet covered 5 pay lines with 2 coins per line. The        bet turned out a winner for the user. Therefore, the user may        press the “redo” button to repeat the bet. The user may be at a        video poker machine, and wish to draw once again to a royal        flush (the draw having been unsuccessful on the previous hand).        Pressing the “redo” button, the user may get the chance to draw        once again to the royal flush. However, the second time around,        the user may have to make a larger wager. A user may wish to        redo a bet in a particular way. Perhaps the exact time at which        the bet was made was fortuitous. For example, three and a half        seconds past the minute mark. Perhaps it was the exact way in        which he pulled the handle. The gaming device may automatically        replicate the way the user pulled the handle on a first bet in        making the second bet.    -   A button to bet fractional numbers of credits. For example, the        user may bet one third of a credit on a handle pull by pressing        a special button.

The new buttons created by the user may be displayed as areas on thetouch screen of a gaming device. Alternatively, instead of creating anew button, a gaming device may understand inputs from an old button ashaving a new meaning. For example, a button that is labeled “bet maximumcredits” on a gaming device may be understood as “give me an offer” whenpressed by a particular user. Thus, the central controller may tell theuser, “When you want to get a marketing offer, just press the ‘betmaximum credits’ button and ignore the meaning of what is written on thebutton.” In some embodiments, gaming devices are manufactured withphysical buttons labeled “marketing button” or “get me an offer” or withsome similar label. These buttons may be dedicated solely to the purposeof allowing players to request marketing offers.

(x) The Form of Complimentaries the User is to Receive

The complimentary (comp) system is an important promotional feature atmost casinos. The complimentary system allows users to receive benefitsbased on the user's amount of play. For example, a user might beeligible for a free meal at a casino restaurant for every $3000 gambledat the casino. One aspect of the disclosed invention is allowing a userto choose what types of complimentary benefits he would like to receive.The user may choose, for example, to receive free meals, reduced hotelrates, free show tickets, line passes, cash, credits, or merchandise.Where the user chooses merchandise that a casino does not typically giveout, the casino or central controller may order the merchandise for theuser. In fact, a significant advantage of the user's remotely choosingmerchandise as a complimentary item is that the casino or the centralcontroller has time to obtain the merchandise before the user visits thecasino. The user may also disclose his intention to gamble for a certainamount so that the casino or controller can have a better assurance thatthe user will actually earn enough complimentary points to receive themerchandise the user has designated.

In addition to specifying the form of complimentary items, the user mayalso specify the amount and the type of play necessary to earn thecomplimentary items. For example, the user might say that he wants toearn something for playing the quarter slot machines for 6 hours. Whatfollows is a partial list of activities the user may specify asactivities that earn complimentary items:

-   -   The user plays for a certain amount of time    -   The user makes a certain number of handle pulls    -   The user wins a certain net or gross amount    -   The user loses a certain net or gross amount    -   The user inserts a certain total amount of money    -   The user makes wagers totaling a certain amount

In addition to specifying complimentaries for himself, a user mayspecify them for friends, relatives, or others.

(xi) Gambling Rules

Often, a user has preconceived ideas about what to do with his winningsat a casino, or what to do when he wins, or loses. Too often, a userleaves a casino wishing he had quit when he was up $100, or wishing hehadn't gone to the ATM a second time, etc. Therefore, a user may inputrules that will govern his actions at the casino. Remote from theemotions and pressures of the casino floor, the user will better be ableto decide how to handle his money.

One set of rules a user might input describes how the user will allocatewinnings among various causes. For example, the user may wish toallocate 2% of winnings to pay for his hotel bill, 3% to pay for acredit card bill, 10% to go into a gift fund for his wife, and 3% to gotoward his child's college tuition. With these rules in place, thecontroller may set up multiple accounts for the user, and have thecasino server automatically divert portions of the user's winnings tothe designated accounts. For example, after a user wins $100 on a handlepull, the casino server may communicate this information to a centralcontroller. The central controller may then increment a user's hotelbill account by $2, credit card payment account by $3, wife gift accountby $10, and child tuition account by $3. At predetermined timeintervals, the user may be asked (e.g. by the central controller, casinoserver, or gaming device) whether the money in the designated accountsshould actually be used for its intended purpose. Upon the user'sapproval, money in his hotel bill account may be eliminated, and hishotel bill reduced by the corresponding amount. Similarly, money in hiswife gift account may actually be used to purchase a gift (the user mayhave also designated the gift as part of his rules).

The following are exemplary rules or fragments of rules that may governthe user's allocation of winnings

-   -   A fixed percentage of each payout the user wins goes into one or        more accounts. Thus, if a user wins $2 on a handle pull, two        cents may be allocated to a particular account.    -   A variable percentage of each payout the user wins goes into one        or more accounts. The percentage may depend on the size of the        payout, the time of day, the user's net winnings thus far, the        amount already put into one or more accounts, etc.    -   A portion of a payout goes into an account only upon the        realization of some random event. For example, a rule might        govern that for every credit a user wins, a random number        between 1 and 100 is to be generated. If the number is 5 or        less, then the credit goes into a first account. If the number        if between 6 and 10, the credit goes into a second account, and        so on.    -   One or more credits is taken out of a user's winnings at fixed        intervals. For example, after the user wins 99 credits,        regardless of how long it takes, the 100^(th) credit is taken        out and placed in a particular account for the user. In another        embodiment, one or more credits may be taken from a user device        at fixed time intervals and placed into a particular account,        provided the user has credits on his gaming device.

Other possible rules the user may specify include

-   -   The user is encouraged to quit after some condition has been        met. The condition might be that the user has lost a certain        amount; the user has lost on a certain number of consecutive        handle pulls; the user has won a certain amount; the user has        played for a certain amount of time; etc. The gaming device may        strictly enforce the user-defined rule by, for example, forcibly        cashing out the user and ceasing to operate so long as the        user's player tracking card is inserted. Alternatively, the user        device may simply encourage the user to quit, reminding him that        he had intended to quit at this point. The gaming device might        also suggest some alternative activities for the user. For        example, the user might visit the casino's restaurant, bar, or        show. An exemplary input of the user into the Web site of the        central controller is, “Cash me out if I win $100 or if I'm down        $100.”    -   The gaming device, casino server, or the central controller        manages the user's wagers so that the user does not lose all of        his money prior to a certain time. For example, the user might        say, “I don't want to lose all of my $100 buy-in within a three        hour period.” Then, the gaming device might steadily decrease        the user's wager size as he loses money, to make sure he does        not run out within a three hour period. If the user begins to        win money, the gaming device may increase the size of the user's        wager.        (xii) Information about Contracts for which the User Wants to        Sign Up

Gaming contracts are a way for a user to purchase and for a casino tosell large blocks of handle pulls at once. Over the course of a largenumber of handle pulls, certain statistics become more pronounced. Forexample, whereas after a small number of handle pulls, a user may or maynot come out ahead, the user is almost guaranteed to come out behindafter a large number of handle pulls. This is because the housemaintains a small edge on every handle pull. Therefore, in selling largeblocks of handle pulls to a user, the casino can afford to providediscounts or other benefits. One attractive benefit is insuring a useragainst losses. Thus, a user may pay to make 20,000 handle pulls withthe provision that he keeps any winnings but is not liable for anylosses. Aside from being able to offer attractive incentives forcontract purchases, the casino also benefits from locking the user intoa large number of pulls.

The user also benefits from contract play. As mentioned, the user mayinsure himself against losses. The user may also ensure that he canafford a large number of pulls by purchasing them all at once. Then, heneedn't worry about running out of money before his planned stay at thecasino ends. Another benefit is that, having purchased a large number ofhandle pulls at once, the user need not necessarily be present when theyare executed. Thus, the user may go off to have lunch or may even leavethe state while handle pulls are made on his behalf. The user thenenjoys an experience akin to that of remote gambling.

In some embodiments of this invention, the user may structure and orpurchase contracts at the Web site of the central controller. Instructuring a contract, the user may designate any of the following:

-   -   The number of handle pulls in the contract    -   The wager amount for each of the handle pulls    -   The game to be played (e.g. IGT®'s Triple Diamond®, or Double        Bonus Poker®)    -   The price of the contract

The user may also provide gambling instructions such that a gamingdevice might generate outcomes for the user automatically. Suchinstructions may relate to the outcomes of a contract, or to outcomesunrelated to a contract. Exemplary instructions include

-   -   The frequency with which outcomes are to be generated (e.g. make        10 handle pulls per minute)    -   The total number of outcomes to be generated (e.g. make 1000        handle pulls)    -   The way new outcomes are to be generated or new wagers are to be        made in dependence on old outcomes (e.g. double up my bets every        time I lose, and go back to 25 cents per pull when I win. Or        double the rate of handle pulls when I have lost more than five        times in a row, but halve the rate of handle pulls when I have        won a payout of more than $10. Or stop after I have won or lost        $100.)

Once the user has submitted preparation data describing a contractand/or gambling instructions, the user may name or otherwise identifythe contract. For example, the user may call a contract “Superlucksystem.” Then, when the user appears in person at a gaming device, heneed only select the Superluck system to begin contract play.

(xiii) Travel Arrangement Information

Using the Web site of the central controller, the user may make traveland accommodation arrangements. The user may select, for example, thehotel at which he would like to stay, the days he would like to stay,the grade of room, the transportation he would like to take from theairport, the airline he would like to fly, etc. In some embodiments, theuser may provide travel dates and allow the central controller to find asuitable hotel for the user. For example, the central controller mightfind a hotel with rooms available, a hotel with the cheapest room rates,or a hotel that gives benefits for staying there (e.g. free meals).

The user may receive various gaming related benefits for making travelarrangements using the central controller. For example, he may receivefive dollars in free chips for every $100 worth of travel arrangementshe makes using the central controller.

(xiv) Friends' Email Addresses

At the central controller's Web site, the user may enter the emailaddresses of friends, relatives or other people the user may wish tocontact during a gambling session. The user may wish to contact people,for example, if he has just had a string of good luck and wishes toshare his excitement with others. The user may also wish to contactothers to solicit encouragement if he has not been doing so well. Theuser may also simply want to chat while playing the slots. By enteringemail addresses remotely, a user has access to an address book, forexample, and need not memorize all his friends' addresses. The remotelyentered addresses then become available to the user at a gaming device.For example, the name of a user's friend may be listed on a touch screenof the user's gaming device. The user need then only touch the friend'sname, compose a message, and touch a “send” button on the touch screenin order to send an email message to his friend. In addition to friends'or relatives' email addresses, the user may enter AOL Instant Messenger®handles, phone numbers, or other contact information for friends.

In some embodiments, the user gives the central controller or one ormore casino servers permission to contact one or more of his friends.The central controller may then market to the user's friends by, forexample, urging the user's friends to visit a casino associated with thecentral controller. The user may receive a benefit for allowing hisfriends to be contacted. In some embodiments, friends are contacted onbehalf of the user. For example, the user says, send an email to myfriend Joe Smith every time I win more than $40 on a handle pull. Theuser may even compose the message before hand. The message might read,“I've just won $x, don't you wish you had come with me?”

(xv) The User's Gambling Circle

A user may register one or more other people to benefit from hisgambling. These registered beneficiaries are termed the user's “gamblingcircle”. For example, the user registers several friends, each toreceive 10 percent of any jackpot the user receives. Creating a gamblingcircle has several advantages. A user can leave for a trip to a casinowith the psychological backing of friends, relatives, or coworkers. Whenhe wins, he not only feels good about receiving money, but also abouthaving won money for his gambling circle. Furthermore, when the userreturns from his trip, his gambling circle will be more interested inhow the trip went and in any good stories the user has to tell.Describing his trip to his gambling circle adds to the fun of the user'sexperience.

A user may register members of his gambling circle by entering theirnames, email addresses, and/or home addresses when logged into the Website of the central controller. These may be stored in the gamblingcircle database of FIG. 11. When a user registers members of hisgambling circle, he may specify what benefits they are to receive. Thefollowing is a partial list of possible benefits:

-   -   A percentage of any jackpot the user wins.    -   A percentage of the user's gross winnings    -   A percentage of the user's net winnings    -   A percentage of the user's jackpots, net, or gross winnings        during a certain time frame (e.g. from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm every        day).    -   A percentage of the user's jackpots, net, or gross winnings,        capped at a certain amount. (e.g. 5% of net winnings up to a        maximum of $50).    -   A non-monetary prize which is dependent on the user's winnings.        (e.g. a $50 gift certificate at Amazon if the user wins any        jackpot over $1000)

Benefits given the members of a user's gambling circle may or may notdetract from a user's own winnings. For example, if the user wins a$1000 jackpot, and has signed up a member to receive 5% of any suchjackpot, then the user may receive only $950 of the jackpot.Alternatively, the user may receive the full $1000, and the casino orother party (such as a marketer) may provide the extra $50 due themember of the gambling circle. If it is the casino that will provide theextra money to compensate a member of a gambling circle, then the casinomay require some action of the user or the member of the gambling circlebefore providing the money. For example, the casino may require themember of the gambling circle to pick up the $50 at the casino. Thecasino would then benefit from having a potential customer visit thecasino. A marketer providing the extra $50 might require the member ofthe gambling circle to test one of the marketer's products. For example,a car dealer might require the member of the gambling circle to testdrive the dealer's car before receiving the $50.

In some embodiments, the benefits given the members of a user's gamblingcircle bear little relationship to the user's winnings. For example,members of a gambling circle may receive benefits only when a user losesin excess of a certain amount. As another example, a member benefitswhen the user gets an outcome of “lemon-cherry-bar,” which mayordinarily be a non-winning outcome.

A member of a gambling circle may receive any benefits due him in anumber of ways. The casino may send cash, a check, a money order, avoucher for casino chips, or a prize in the mail. The casino may wiremoney, send digital cash, or deposit money directly to a financialaccount of the gambling circle member. The casino may simply notify amember of a user's gambling circle of what the user has won, with thepresumption that the member would then collect from the user. Many otherways are possible for a casino or marketer to provide a benefit.

(xvi) Intentionality Information

Knowing a user's intended activities can be valuable for a casino orother marketer. Intended activities may include such things as when auser intends to visit Las Vegas; how long a user intends to stay in LasVegas; how much a user intends to gamble; where a user intends togamble; where a user intends to eat; where a user intends to stay; andso on. Knowing a user's intentions, a marketer can try to pitch productsor services that suit the user's intentions. For example, if a userplans to stay in Las Vegas for four days, a hotel might offer the user aspecial rate based on a four-night stay. Also, when the user is in LasVegas on his last day, a casino may be willing to sell a product to theuser. The casino would not ordinarily wish to divert a user's money fromgambling. However, knowing that the user is there for his last day, thecasino might deduce that a larger profit would come from selling aproduct to the user than would come from allowing the user to gamble forhis small remaining amount of time.

A user may submit his intentions to the central controller via thecentral controller's Web site. The user may respond to specificquestions, such as “How many people are you traveling with,” by keyingin a number or by selecting from multiple answer choices, such as “1”,“2”, “3”, or “more than 3”. The user may also provide more free-formanswers, either by typing them in or by speaking into a microphone. Freeform answers may be responses to questions such as “What do you plan todo during your vacation?” The free form answers may then be interpretedby a human or a computer program.

The user may be compensated for submitting his intentions. For example,the user may receive compensation for each question he answers. Thecompensation might depend on the value of the user's answers to a casinoor marketer. For example, a user may receive more compensation foranswering, “What is your gambling budget?” than for answering “Where doyou intend to eat for lunch Sunday?”

As the user answers questions, new questions may be posed to the userbased on his answers to old ones. For example, if the user says his tripto Las Vegas is to last 4 days, he may then be asked where he plans tostay. However, a user who indicates his trip is only a day trip may notbe asked where he intends to stay.

A casino or a marketer may try to influence a user to alter hisexpressed intentions, perhaps with the offer of a special deal. Forexample, if the user intends to gamble at a first casino, then a secondcasino may offer the user $20 in free chips if the user goes thereinstead. If the user only plans to stay three nights, then a hotel mayoffer him a discount on room rates for a fourth and fifth night.

A casino or marketer may also encourage a user to commit to hisintentions. For example, the user may say he intends to spend about $100shopping at a particular casino. The casino, knowing the user couldalways change his mind, might ask the user to commit to the $100 worthof shopping. For committing, the user might receive a benefit, such as a$20 gift certificate at one of the casino's stores. There may be variousways of enforcing the user's commitment. For example, the user may haveto deposit a certain amount of money with the central controller. Theuser may lose the money if he does not honor his commitment.

A user may submit information about his friends' intentions. Perhaps theuser knows how long his friends are staying, where they are staying,where they like to gamble, where they like to eat, and so on. The usermight provide friends' contact information along with theirintentionality data, so that a casino or marketer may contact the user'sfriends.

Along with information about his intentions, a user may submitinformation about his obligations. Obligations may be thought of as astronger form of intentions, where there is some psychological pressureon a user to perform an action. For example, the user is obligated toleave after four days because he has to go to work on the fifth day. Auser may similarly receive compensation for submitting obligations. Amarketer may not try as hard to get a user to commit to his obligations,nor to convince a user not to fulfill obligations.

The central controller may infer user intentions or obligations. If theuser has already made a reservation with a casino's hotel, for example,then the central controller may receive such reservation informationfrom the casino hotel. The central controller then knows how long a userintends to spend on a vacation. The central controller may also refer toexisting data about the user. For example, if the central controller hasa record of the user's prior hotel stays in Las Vegas, and the user hasstayed in Las Vegas for an average of five days during each of the lastsix years, then the central controller may infer that the user intendsto stay in Las Vegas for five days during an upcoming vacation.

Knowing a user's intentions and obligations, the central controller mayemploy principles of revenue management in providing offers to the user.For example, if the central controller knows a user has a $150 foodbudget, then the central controller might offer the user a meal at arestaurant for $20. Sam, who has a $500 food budget, might get the samemeal offered for $30. The central controller might also offer the userfood or products of a perishable nature, perhaps at a reduced price.

(xvii) Entertainment and Convenience Information

Gaming devices may have the capability of providing a number ofentertainment or convenience features beyond the mere play of the game.For example, gaming devices may allow the user to view television ormovies, to access the Internet, to place phone calls, to do wordprocessing, to listen to music, and so on. Therefore, a user may submitpreparation data detailing the entertainment and convenience features hewould like. What follows are some examples of user requests:

-   -   The user requests continuous access to ESPN® whenever playing        the slots    -   The user requests to place 20 minutes worth of phone calls to        any place in the U.S. per three hour period    -   The user requests to watch Conan the Barbarian®, Star Wars®, and        the Matrix® while playing the slots    -   The user requests access to the Internet and to Microsoft Word®        while at the slots    -   The user requests access to AOL® Instant Messenger® while at the        slots    -   The user requests free access to two exclusive Web sites while        playing the slots    -   The user request to hear the top 50 songs on the country music        charts while playing the slots

The user may also request particular entertainment features, includingmovies and TV shows, for his hotel room.

(xviii) Information about the User's Preferred Environmental Conditions

A user may submit preparation data on what environmental conditions mostsuit him. The user might provide preparation data pertaining to ambienttemperature, ambient lighting, proximity of machines to each other, thecrowdedness of the casino floor, the noise level of the casino, and thesmokiness and ventilation of the casino. In addition, preparation datamay pertain to the number of casino personnel available to serve a user.For example, the user may desire numerous desk clerks to help with theexchange of coins for paper currency. The user may desire a number ofwaiters and waitresses on hand to bring drinks frequently. Users mayspecify preparation data that pertains to the user's preferred drink ordrinks. Knowing these, a waitress would be able to bring the user drinkswithout asking what he would like. The user may also submit preparationdata about when he would like to be served drinks. Then, a waitresscould bring drinks to a user without his ever asking. Users may specifypreparation data that pertains to casino devices in a particularconfiguration. For example, the user might prefer machines that are atthe end of a row, that are isolated, or that are in an arcconfiguration.

(xix) Scrap Book Information

A trip centered on gambling may constitute a major vacation for a user.The average visitor to Las Vegas spends more than four days there. Avisitor often comes in by airplane. Furthermore, visitors to Las Vegasseek out numerous forms of entertainment in addition to gambling.

As with any vacation, the user wishes to enjoy himself and to retainmemories of his best experiences. A casino may assist a user inretaining memories by documenting the user's experiences in variousways. The casino may use the security cameras to take pictures of theuser. The casino may save pictures of the user from various specialmoments, e.g. just after the user has won a sizable payout. The user'sgaming device may communicate with the casino server or centralcontroller, alerting them that a payout has been won. The casino servermay then send a signal to a casino security camera overlooking the user.The camera may be instructed to capture and/or save one or more stillimages from the time period during which the player won. Securitycameras may also record images from a user at times of low morale, toserve as a points of comparison with pictures of the user's latertriumphs.

A gaming device may also record and store particular outcomes achievedby the user. The gaming device may provide the user with a printedrecord of his outcomes. The gaming device may also communicate therecord of outcomes to the central controller. The central controller maythen send the record of the outcomes to the user's terminal Usingsoftware that graphically represents a gaming device, the user may beable to relive his gaming experience on his user terminal.

Pictures of the user's facial expressions may even be overlaid on top ofthe graphical representation of the gaming device as it achievedoutcomes causing the user's expressions. For example, a user is shownwith an elated expression on top of a picture of three bars lining up ona slot machine. Such pictures may be provided digitally to the user, inprinted form, or may be put on T-shirts or other merchandise for theuser.

When a user achieves certain outcomes, casino employees may gatheraround the user for a group picture. Perhaps they hold the user on theirshoulders directly in front of a security camera.

The casino may record sounds from the user as well as images. Forexample, microphones on the gaming device may record the user'sexclamations of sorrow or joy as his fortunes change.

Since documentation of a vacation may be so important to the user, theuser may submit preparation data describing how his vacation will berecorded. The user may describe when the casino should take or recordpictures of the user. For example, the user might say to save a pictureof the user whenever the user wins a payout exceeding $100. The usermight say to save the top five outcomes won by the user, so that theuser may later have the outcomes reenacted at his computer.

The user may wish for special merchandise to be made reflecting theuser's vacation. For example, the user may ask for a mug displaying thedollar figure of the user's best outcome above a picture of the user.

Part of the user's preparation data may also be a payment scheme for thedocumentation of his vacation. For example, the user may pay $10 and beentitled to receive prints of 100 pictures of the user's choice. Theuser may pay $20 to receive two T-shirts with the user's picture onthem. The user's payment may or may not be made in advance. The user mayor may not commit to paying for any elements of documentation.

In some embodiments, a user's gaming device is configured to display a“photograph this” button or a “save this” button. When the user pressesthe button (as by touching an area of the touch screen), a camera in thecasino may photograph the user, or the gaming device may save thecurrent outcome for future reenactments.

It may be worthwhile for a casino to provide a user with freedocumentation of his vacation. After taking multiple pictures of a user,for example, a casino would be able to present the pictures to the userin a logical, organized, or attractive format, such as a scrapbook.However, if a user were to go to multiple different casinos during avacation, and were he to receive documentation from the multiplecasinos, the documentation from the different casinos would notnecessarily fit together conveniently. Thus, a casino can retain usersmore effectively by providing documentation, since a user would wish tostay at that casino and have his whole vacation documented in a unifiedformat.

In some embodiments, multiple casinos, restaurants, and/or othermerchants may coordinate with each other in the documentation of auser's trip. For example, two different casinos may each photograph auser, and send the photographs to a central database maintained by thecentral controller. The central controller may then assemble all of thephotographs into an album and present them to the user in a unifiedformat.

Photographs, outcomes, and other data documenting a user's trip may bestored in a trip documentation database 210.

(xx) What the User Wishes to Buy

Many visitors to casinos enjoy shopping in casinos' extensive shoppingmalls. However, the malls do not necessarily have everything a userwishes to purchase. Therefore, the user's preparation data may include alist and description of items the user wishes to purchase. The user maydesire customized items, such as T-shirts with his name on them. Whenthe user indicates what items he wants in advance, stores have theopportunity to obtain or to make what the user wants. The user may payin advance or may simply commit to a purchase. The items the userrequests may be held at particular stores, may be sent directly to theuser at his home address, or may be brought to the user while he is at agaming device or in his hotel room. In some embodiments, a store obtainsgoods requested by the user and gives them to the user at the store forfree or for a steep discount. The expectation is that the user willpurchase more items at the store. The user may be required to purchasemore items in order to get the requested product for free or at adiscount.

Items a user requests to purchase may also be offered to the user asprizes. For example, if the user wins a $200 prize at a slot machine,the slot machine may offer to give the user the dress she requestedinstead of her prize.

Clearly a tremendous amount and variety of preparation data is possible,and a user may not necessarily provide certain preparation data that itis possible to provide. For example, a user may not necessarily provideany data of use to marketers, nor even indicate whether or not he wouldlike to receive marketing offers. Thus, the controller 102 may associatedefault preparation data with each user. In the above example, where theuser has not indicated whether or not he'd like to receive marketingoffers, the default may be that the user does receive marketing offers.Default data may not be the same for every user. Rather, defaultpreparation data may depend on information about the user, or it maydepend on the business environment of the central controller, casinoservers, or marketers. For example, marketing offers may be presented toa user if a marketer is experiencing particular pressure to dispose ofinventory, but may not be presented otherwise.

2. Step S2: Determining an Associated Preparation Code

In some embodiments, the central controller 102 may assign a preparationcode to each user's preparation data. The code may be any sequence ofletters, numerals, punctuation, and other symbols. Sample codes are,“123456,” “C123456,” “ABCDEF,” and “*$%#@Q%.” Codes may be any length.In some embodiments, codes are limited in length and symbol usage sothat they may be easily memorized by a human. Also, the symbols in codesmay be restricted to those easily entered into a gaming device. Forexample, a player tracking card reader on a slot machine may contain akeypad with only numerals. Therefore, codes may consist strictly ofnumerals.

In some embodiments, a unique code is assigned to each unique set ofpreparation data. Since there may be more possible sets of preparationdata than codes of a given length, certain codes may expire after a timeso that they may be reused for new sets of preparation data. That is,code “123456” may correspond to a first set of preparation data only forthree weeks, after which it may be assigned to a new set of preparationdata. A code may correspond to different sets of preparation datadepending on different circumstances. The time of day, the geographiclocation, and the type of gaming device receiving the code may alldetermine the corresponding set of preparation data. Advantageously,this may allow fewer codes to represent more unique sets of preparationdata, since each code can now represent multiple sets of preparationdata. For example, “123456” may represent a five reel, $1 per bet gamingdevice configuration in Atlantic City, but may represent a three reel,quarter per bet configuration in Las Vegas.

When codes are assigned to sets of preparation data, the codes maysimply be assigned in sequence according to the order in which sets ofpreparation data are defined by users. For example, set of preparationdata may be assigned the code “000129,” while a set of preparation datareceived immediately afterwards may be assigned the code “000130.”

When a code is assigned to a set of preparation data, a record may becreated for the code and preparation data in a database such as that ofFIG. 12. When a gaming device, casino server, or the central controllerlater receives a code, it may simply examine the record in the databaseto determine the corresponding preparation data.

In an alternative embodiment, a code actually contains preparation data.For example, each digit of a code may correspond to a different featureof a gaming device configuration. The first digit may indicate the gametype, the second the font size, the third the wager size, and so on.Then, when a gaming device receives a code, it need only interpret eachsegment of the code using a predefined table in order to configureitself properly. Such a table may be stored in the gaming device, thecasino server, or the central controller.

In some embodiments, a first code is created such that it containspreparation data. However, the code may be very long, especially ifthere are many features that can be customized Therefore, a second codeis created by compressing the first code in some fashion. Numerouscompression algorithms for a sequence of bits or numerals are known inthe art. When the gaming device later receives the second code, it mayreverse the compression algorithm to recover the first code and todeduce the preparation data from the first code. Of course, the casinoserver or central controller may also reverse the compression.

Preparation data may be associated with a particular user. Thus,information about the user may be sufficient for a gaming device toobtain preparation data. For example, a user's name may be stored in adatabase corresponding to a set of preparation data. When the user laterenters his name into a gaming device (perhaps via his tracking card),the gaming device may find the user's name in the database and therebyobtain the corresponding preparation data. A user's player tracking cardnumber may serve a similar function. Other user characteristics may beassociated in a database with configurations. A user's biometric data,such as voice data, retinal scan data, or finger print data may beassociated with a particular configuration.

A preparation code may take the form of bar code, or any othermachine-readable code. The user may then print out the bar code from hisuser terminal. When the user subsequently inserts the bar code into agaming device, the gaming device may obtain the user's preparation data.

A user may specify his own code to be associated with a particularconfiguration. Perhaps he labels a configuration, “203-461-9999,” or“Big Jackpot,” or “xyz.”

A preparation code may only describe particular features that a user hasselected. Other features may then take on default values. For example,if a user has only selected the number of reels, a code might read“NRS,” where “NR” stands for “number of reels,” and “5” indicates thedesired number. The code does not describe other features, and so thesemay take on default values.

3. Step S3: Transmitting the Preparation Data and Code to a CasinoServer

Once a code has been associated with a particular set of preparationdata, the code and the preparation data may be transmitted to a casinoserver, and/or a gaming device. Transmission may occur via the Internet,email, phone, fax, or any other mode of communication.

In some embodiments, the code and preparation data are transmittedimmediately after they have been generated. In other embodiments, agaming device may only receive preparation data after a user has entereda code, and the gaming device has sent the code to the casino serverand/or the central controller.

In embodiments where a preparation code contains information about agaming device configuration, the controller need not necessarilytransmit both configuration data and the preparation code, since agaming device or casino server may be able to derive one from the otheraccording to predefined rules.

When a user sits down at a gaming device, he may enter his preparationcode in order to have the gaming device assume the user's preferredfeatures. He may enter the code in a number of ways including:

-   -   Keying in the code via a keypad or touch screen    -   Speaking the code into a microphone, whereby it is interpreted        using voice recognition software    -   Inserting a bar code into the gaming device    -   Inserting his player tracking card into the device    -   Inserting into the gaming device any magnetic strip containing        the code    -   Inserting into the gaming device a floppy disc, CD, DVD or other        storage medium containing the code    -   Wirelessly transmitting the code to the gaming device using a        cell phone, PDA, or other communications device

If the gaming device cannot interpret the code, the gaming device maytransmit the code to the casino server and/or to the controller. Thecasino server or controller may then look up the code in a database suchas that of FIG. 12, and may retrieve the corresponding configurationinformation. The configuration may then be sent back to the gamingdevice so that it can configure itself accordingly.

4. Step S4: Provide Feedback to the User

After the user has entered preparation data into the Web site of thecentral controller 102, the central controller 102 may respond to theuser. The following is a partial list of possible information containedin the central controller's response:

-   -   A thank you to the user for submitting preparation data    -   Maps and directions to any gaming devices or other points of        interest for the user    -   Vouchers or coupons for use at a casino, restaurant, or other        business. The vouchers may, in particular, be for businesses in        the vicinity of the user's intended destination.    -   Information about one or more individual gaming devices. For        example, the gaming device's date of manufacture, pay out        percentage to 53 year-old males, etc. The user may, for example,        print out this information and take it to his astrologer for a        consultation.    -   Updates on gaming devices for the time since the user entered        preparation data. The central controller may call the user's        attention to new gaming devices if these have been performing        well lately.    -   Configuring a gaming device according to the configuration data        associated with a preparation code received from a player at the        gaming device.    -   Marketing offers for the user. The marketing offers may offer        the user benefits for doing business or agreeing to do business        with any merchant in the vicinity of the user's destination or        anywhere else. In some embodiments, the central controller will        only honor the user's preparation data if the user agrees to a        marketing offer. For example, the controller might say to the        user, “Sure we'll give you the pay table you requested, but we'd        like you to fly to Las Vegas using XYZ Airlines.” The central        controller might ask the user to prepay for some product or        service in order to solidify the user's agreement. So the user        might prepay for three nights stay at a hotel after agreeing to        spend his vacation at the hotel.

F. Example Illustrative Embodiments of the Invention

The following very specific examples are provided to illustrateparticular embodiments of the present invention, particularly from theperspective of potential users of the system 100A, 100B includingplayers and potential controller 102 operators such as casinos.

1. Example A

Sarah wanted to keep her brother informed during her upcoming trip toLas Vegas. She therefore logged onto the Web site Vegasvacation.com andprovided her player tracking card number. She then provided instructionsthat all outcomes she achieved would be emailed to her brother once anhour. She provided her brother's email address.

The day Sarah arrived in Las Vegas, she sat down at a slot machine. Sheinserted her player tracking card. The slot machine communicated theplayer tracking card number to the central controller. The centralcontroller looked up the number in a database, and found theinstructions Sarah had provided, along with her brother's email address.The central controller then instructed the slot machine to transmit itsoutcomes to the central controller as they were generated. As Sarah madeher handle pulls, the slot machine transmitted the outcomes to thecentral controller. The central controller stored the outcomes. Everyhour, the central controller sent the newly stored outcomes in an emailto Sarah's brother.

2. Example B

Sam was planning a week-long trip to Las Vegas. Sam did not get muchtime away from his home in Florida due to work and family obligations.So this would be his big vacation for the year. He wanted it to bememorable and he wanted it to go well.

Sam began his planning by logging onto the Web site,http://www.Vegasvacation.com. He saw that there were many of aspects ofhis vacation for which he could plan. He set up an account with the Website by typing in his name, age, email address, and home address.

First Sam decided to find a slot machine game he was comfortable with.He selected from a list of possible slot games, choosing a game calledCrazy Jewels. A new window appeared on his monitor, containing agraphical rendition of a mechanical three-reel slot game. Sam clicked ona “spin” icon and caused the graphical slot machine to spin and displayan outcome. Sam made a few more spins before deciding Crazy Jewels wasboring, and trying a new game. Sam tried a few different games beforefinding one he enjoyed playing. The game was called Camel Quarters. Heenjoyed it in part because he seemed to be winning most of the time. Samput a check mark next to Camel Quarters on the Web site.

One of Sam's fears was losing too much money on his vacation. He knew hecould try to limit his gambling budget, but if he lost it all quickly,he would be bored for the rest of the vacation. Therefore, Sam browsedthrough some marketing offers on the Web site. Many merchants offered tooffset gambling losses, or to give Sam money outright for doing businesswith them. Sam agreed to an offer where he would test drive a sportutility vehicle in return for $30, which Sam would get only if he lostat least $30. Sam agreed to several other offers too.

In case the marketing offers Sam accepted did not turn out to be enough,Sam decided he would be open to receiving more marketing offers whileplaying the slots. He entered some information about himself, includingthe fact that he owned a house, had two small children, had a three-yearold car, and enjoyed golf. A marketing button would then appear on thetouch screen of any slot machine Sam played. Anytime Sam wished toreceive more money, he could press the button and receive anothermarketing offer. Accepting the offer would give Sam more money to gamblewith.

On the Web site, Sam had the opportunity to choose a prize he would liketo play for at a slot machine. Sam had always wanted a Porsche™, so hechose his favorite model to play for. If Sam then won the maximumjackpot on any machine with a jackpot over $30,000, he would get thePorsche instead of the money.

Sam noticed that the Web site allowed him to scan in pictures to besubsequently displayed on his slot machine. Sam thought it would be neatto have his dog Woofie appear on the reels of the slot machine. Samcould even arrange it so that lining up three Woofie's would give him alarge payout. So Sam scanned in a picture of Woofie using his homescanner. He sent the picture as an attachment in an email toVegasvacation.com. The picture was then stored in a database for lateraccess by Sam at a slot machine.

Sam saw that he could actually have pictures taken of him while playingthe slots, and that the pictures could be made into an album for him andsent to him for only $20. Since this was a big vacation for Sam, he verymuch wanted the vacation documented. Therefore, Sam typed in his creditcard number and agreed to pay the $20. He asked that pictures be takenof him whenever he won more than a $100 pay out. He also asked that hispicture be overlaid on top of an image of the slot reels for any pay outover $500.

When Sam had finished with his selections at the Web site, he was askedto enter his mother's maiden name, and the name of the street on whichhe grew up. The answers would later be used in confirming Sam's identityat a slot machine. Sam did as he was asked.

The Web site then gave Sam two links to maps. Sam clicked on one linkand a map of Las Vegas appeared on his screen. The New Age Casino washighlighted on the map. The other link gave Sam a map of the casinofloor of the New Age Casino. Two rows of slot machines were highlighted.These were the machines that played Camel Quarters. Sam printed out thetwo maps so he could find his way to the Camel Quarter machines.

When Sam got to Vegas, he took a cab to the New Age Casino. Using hismap of the casino floor, he easily found the Camel Quarter slots. He satdown at one. The touch screen displayed a question, asking whether Samhad made any advance customizations. Sam touched a “yes” button and wasasked for his name. Sam entered his name using touch screen keys. He wasthen asked for his mother's maiden name and for the name of the streeton which he grew up. He answered these questions successfully, and wasthen welcomed. To his delight, the picture of his dog Woofie appeared onthe touch screen. Woofie subsequently appeared on the reels of the CamelQuarters game.

An hour into play, Sam had lost $30. A message appeared on his touchscreen. “Bob's SUV Dealer is pleased to take care of your loss. Here isanother $30.” The credit meter on Sam's machine then incremented by $30.Unfortunately, in the next few hours, Sam exhausted all the money he hadon reserve from marketers. So he pressed a button on his touch screenmarked “Get Your Offer to Increase Your Bankroll!” Sam was then offered$25 for trying a free round of golf at the Golden Days Country Club inhis hometown. Sam agreed, signed an area on the touch screen, andwatched as his credit meter incremented by $25.

On his second day, Sam lined up three Woofie's and won $250. He was toldto look up at the ceiling, where a security camera captured his smile.His face was overlaid atop an image of three Woofie's, and this picturewas the highlight of the album he later received

g. additional embodiments

The following are example alternative variations which illustrateadditional embodiments of the present invention. It should be understoodthat the particular variations described in this section can be combinedwith the different embodiments, or portions thereof, described above inany manner that is practicable. These examples do not constitute adefinition or itemization of all possible embodiments, and those skilledin the art will understand that the present invention is applicable tomany other embodiments. Further, although the following examples arebriefly described for clarity, those skilled in the art will understandhow to make any changes, if necessary, to the above-described apparatusand methods to accommodate these and other embodiments and applications.

The submission of preparation data has been described in the context ofa gambling experience. However, a user could also submit preparationdata to customize a video game experience. For example, prior tovisiting a video arcade, a user could select a game, a sound level, asensitivity level of characters' motion in relation to the movement ofcontrols, and so on. A user could submit preparation data to customizehis experience at an ATM machine. Then, after entering his password, theuser might immediately receive a designated amount of cash. Havingsubmitted preparation data, the use need not select a language, selectdeposit or withdrawal, select checking or savings, key in a number, etc.Preparation data may also apply to a point of sale terminal. When ashopper identifies himself using a frequent shopper card, or a creditcard, the POS terminal may respond to the shopper's stored preparationdata. The POS terminal may then format the shopper's receipt in acertain way, print certain coupons on the back of the shopper's receipt,or present certain marketing offers to the shopper. In some embodiments,preparation data includes a description of a subscription to a productor service. The user may, for example, indicate he wishes to buy milkonce a week for 12 weeks at a discount of 10 cents per carton. Then,when the user pays for milk at a point of sale terminal, the user isgiven the 10 cent discount.

Many alternate systems are possible for the present invention. Forexample, the central controller may communicate directly with gamingdevices, without the intermediation of slot servers. The centralcontroller may additionally function as a slot server. Marketer devicesmay not be present. For example, in some embodiments, the centralcontroller only markets items for sale at the casino in which thecontroller is situated.

The central controller may inform the user that a benefit, such as freecredits, is waiting for him at a particular gaming device. The user needthen only insert his player tracking card, or provide some otheridentifier, in order to claim the benefit. Advantageously, the user isencouraged to appear at a location where he is very likely to gamble.Therefore a casino may be able to afford providing the free benefit asan inducement to gamble.

A user may arrange to have customized coin racks with his name on themmade available to him at the casino. The user may also request othercustomized products, such as T-shirts or mugs, containing names,phrases, or pictures of his choice.

The central controller may be in communication with multiple casinoservers. Knowing a user's intentions to visit Las Vegas, several casinosmay wish to attract the user to their hotels. Therefore, casinos maycompete for the user's business. For example, a first casino may offerthe user an enticing package involving discounted room rates, free showtickets, free meals, gambling credits, etc. A second casino may offerits own enticing package. The user or the central controller may thendecide which package is best.

Documentation of a user's gambling experience may be sufficientlyentertaining as to warrant broadcast on television. On the Web site ofthe central controller, the user may consent to the user of his voiceand/or image for public broadcast. The user may later receive a rewardif excerpts from his trip are ever aired.

A user may submit requests for particular meals. The central controllermay inform a restaurant so that the chef knows how to prepare the user'smeal. The restaurant may also have the opportunity to obtain specialingredients in advance of the user's coming.

Preparation data may include a desired arrangement or lay out for ahotel room. The user may want windows facing a certain direction, silklinen, certain types of food and drink in the room's mini-bar, a certaintype of shampoo, and so on.

Preparation data may include what movies or television shows a personwishes to watch at a slot machine. For example, the user may wish tocatch up on all of the missed episodes from the last season of hisfavorite sit-com. The central controller or casino may then obtain theseshows and broadcast them on the user's slot machine.

Preparation data may include special medical needs of the user. The usermay need a wheel chair, walker, oxygen supply, or an assistant whilestaying at the casino. The user may request that medication be madeavailable for the user, should the user need it. For example, if theuser is a diabetic, the user may request that the casino have extrainsulin on hand just in case the user needs it. The user may requestthat he be monitored especially closely by the casino security cameras,so that if he requires medical assistance, it will be made quicklyavailable.

Preparation data may be associated with a credit card account. When auser makes a purchase using a credit card, the user may receive certainbenefits described in the user's preparation data. For example, the usermay ask to receive 2 cents towards the purchase of a new boat for everydollar purchased using the credit card. The user's money accumulatedtowards the new boat may be kept in a special account by the credit cardcompany, and released to the user when he has enough to buy the boat. Asanother example, the user may receive a special discount on a purchaseif a credit card order totals over $50.

On the Web site of the central controller, the user may wish to find theworst performing slot machines at a casino or other location, as well asthe best performing. Many users believe that poorly performing machinesare due for an upswing in performance.

The user may configure his gaming device to allow him to order drinks orother services or products. He may then simply press a “bring drink”button on his touch screen to get a waitress to bring him a beer, forexample.

A user may arrange for speed dial buttons in his hotel room. Forexample, on the Web site of the central controller, the user arrangesfor a first button to call a pizza restaurant, for a second button tocall work, for a third button to call home, and so on.

A user may arrange for direct-dial use of his long distance provider.This might save the user from having to dial an 800 number, enter a pincode, and enter a credit card number in order to user his long distanceprovider.

A user may remotely watch games being played. Watching others play gamesmay allow the user to feel more comfortable playing the games himself Auser might, for example, see a video feed from the security camerasabove a blackjack table. He could then watch other people playingblackjack. For reasons of privacy, the user might view only the cardsand the dealer, not the faces of the other players at the table.

A user might arrange to borrow various items, including rental cars,digital cameras, cell phones, suits, and so on.

A user might reduce or eliminate charges on his hotel bill prior toembarking on a vacation. To do so, a user might accept marketing offers.For example, the user may make a purchase at an on-line retaileraffiliated with the hotel. The retailer might then cover the cost of theuser's first night stay at the hotel. The user might also enter intoforward commitments. For example, the may commit to staying at the hotelin the future, and thereby get billed for a smaller room than that inwhich he is to stay.

A user might find out about the machines on which his friends haveplayed. The player may discover the identity of the machines, or eventhe results his friends achieved on the machines. The user might thenplay on machines that have done well for friends, or may even try tooutdo friends on certain machines. The user's friends may have alreadybeen registered as part of the user's gambling circle. Thus, the userdoes not invade their privacy by looking up their results.

A user may arrange for his constantly updating itinerary to be sent tofriends or coworkers. Then, if the user changes plans during a vacation,his coworkers would still know how to reach him.

The present invention may include the additional step of verifying thatthe player is legally permitted to gamble. For example, if the player isunable to prove he is over the age of 18, he may not be permitted toaccess the customization Web site. Thus, the central controller 102 may,for example, consult a database of publicly available birth records.Alternatively the player may be required to provide a scan or aphotograph of an ID, such as a driver's license or passport belonging tothe player. Further, if the player possesses a certain item, such as acredit card, that, for example, is known to only be distributed on arestrictive basis, then the central controller 102 may infer theplayer's eligibility from the player's possession of the item.

In some embodiments, the remote controller may be equipped to print ageneric or customized document describing the player's customizedconfiguration and/or the customization code to enter into the gamingdevice. The document may include cashless gaming receipts or couponswith bar codes, for example, to provide the player with an incentive tobring the document with him to the casino. The consumer may insert thedocument, or a copy of it, into the gaming device to activate thecustomization of the gaming device and/or to redeem the coupons.

In some embodiments, a player device 512, such as a wireless PDA, may beused to activate the customization of the gaming device and it may alertthe gaming device to the player's proximity using, for example, awireless protocol (such as Bluetooth as described athttp://www.bluetooth.com/dev/specifications.asp). Once identified, aconsumer's customized configuration information may be automaticallytransferred to the gaming device. Alternatively, the device may bepreprogrammed to be able to transfer an ID (e.g. player trackinginformation), a customization code, and/or an entire configuration to agaming device, kiosk, or a slot server at the casino location. Forexample, a player may load a slot machine customization program onto hiscombination cell phone/PDA (such as the Kyorcera® SmartPhone® Model No.6035). After having created a configuration for a slot machine, theplayer may walk around a casino “beaming” (via infrared transmissions)his configuration at slot machines. Gaming devices compatible with thesystem of the present invention may respond by lighting up and/or byplaying audio welcoming the player by name and inviting the player toplay “his” personally customized game. As indicated above, using adevice that supports wireless protocols such as Bluetooth wouldeliminate the need to actively beam a player's configuration. By merelyapproaching an enabled gaming device, the player's device could triggerthe gaming device to configure itself to the player's customizedconfiguration. The cell phone/PDA may track and record the player'sperformance and winnings information for a given configuration and allowhim to make adjustments to the configuration or entirely newconfigurations.

In some embodiments, the player may log onto the casino server 112directly, bypassing the central controller 102. Alternatively, theplayer could log onto the gaming device directly, bypassing the casinoserver 112.

Although the system of the invention has been described as one or moregaming devices 120 networked to a casino server 112, the inventionapplies to other games and gaming environments. For example, theinvention may be applied to table games, such as table poker andblackjack. In such embodiments, players may insert their player trackingcards into card readers corresponding to seats around, for example, apoker table. The casino server could access player preferences data andcasino preferences data for the players, and transmit that data to adata terminal located at the dealer. The dealer could then modify thegame or award payouts according to the preferences.

The present invention also applies to other environments or systemsinvolving one or more data terminals networked to a central server toconfigure the terminals to identifiable users or operators. For example,the invention could be readily adapted to apply to networked video gamesystems, systems with point-of-sale terminals, and automatic tellermachines (ATM). This eliminates the need for users or operators tomanually enter configuration information during each and every sessionto configure the terminals.

In some embodiments, the preparation data received by the centralcontroller 102 may be forwarded to one or more slot machinemanufacturers to be incorporated into newly manufactured gaming devices.For example, if the vast majority of players prefer larger font types,new machines might be designed with larger font types as a default.

The central controller's Web site may serve as a testing ground for newgames. Device manufacturers, or casinos may present games orconfigurations that they are considering introducing, but for which theydesire player feedback. Players may test the configurations, and ratethem. Players may be paid or may receive other special privileges fordoing so.

Once a player has selected a configuration, the central controller 102may provide guidance to the player as to how to find gaming devices 120capable of supporting the configuration. The central controller 102 mayilluminate a path through a casino location and/or display a map showingvisually where the player might go to find the gaming devices 120. Themap might be large scale, showing, for example, the entire world, theU.S., or a particular state. The map might show smaller regions, such asthe city of Las Vegas, or even the floor plan of a particular casinolocation. The map might contain other information such as how many ofthe desired gaming devices are in each region, how many are currentlyavailable, how many are likely to be available, how well they have paidout, and so on.

In alternative embodiments, information regarding a player's gamingexperience at the customized gaming device 120 may be transmitted up tothe casino server 112, or the central server 102 and the player may begiven a code that he can use to later access the information from hisuser terminal 106. For example, if a video recording of a player winninga jackpot is captured by a camera and recorder in or near the gamingdevice 120, the gaming device 120 can provide the player with a codethat allows him to access the casino server 112 to view the video athome via his user terminal 106. Other types of information that may betransmitted include gambling performance statistics, records of outcomesgenerated by the gaming device during the player's use of it, accountinformation, customized configuration performance data, records ofplayer decisions made during play (e.g. in video poker devices),analysis of player gambling performance, comparative data from otherplayers, and the like. In some embodiments where targeted marketinginformation is presented to a player at the gaming device 120, there maybe feedback or survey responses from the player that may be stored on orcommunicated back to the gaming device 120, casino server 112, centralcontroller 102, and/or the third-party service provider server 118. Thistype of information may also be made accessible via a code provided tothe player, the casino, and/or a third-party.

The following subsections detail additional and alternative embodimentsof methods of the present invention.

(i) Receive Configuration Data from a User Terminal

A player logs on to the central controller 102 with the user terminal106 and communicates his configuration data. The user terminal 106 mayinclude a personal computer, personal digital assistant, a telephone, akiosk, an ATM, a slot machine, a vending machine, etc. The centralcontroller 102, may include a Web site accessible via the user terminal106, wherein the user may select a number of customization options for agaming device 102. By customizing a gaming device 120, a user has theopportunity to select a game he likes. He also has the opportunity topre-configure a gaming device to operate in a manner that is convenientand pleasing to his senses. For example, the user may pre-configure thegaming device 120 to print text in his native language. The user may setthe decibel levels of a gaming device's sound effects so that they areneither too loud nor too soft. Some other possible customizationsinclude configurable features such as: type of game played (deuces-wild,jacks or better, video reel, etc.), speed at which the reels spin,number of coins played as a default (game denomination), game rules,game variations, music level of the game, sounds types generated by thegame, game colors, game lighting, amount of help offered by the game,frequency with which bonus levels are reached, duration of bonus levels,whether or not the top jackpot is paid as a lump sum or installment,whether or not team members receive a bonus when the player hits apayout, format of the complimentary benefits received (e.g. cash,merchandise, frequent flyer miles, etc.), payout structure (e.g. 6 coinsfor a flush and 9 coins for a full house, rather than 5 coins for aflush and 10 coins for a full house), extra payout options (e.g. smallpayment for four card straight flushes), language or choice of currency,starting point of game (e.g. always start with two pair or three cardroyal), automatic player decisions (e.g. draw one card to a flush unlessthere is a pair of jacks or better, in which case the jacks are held).In addition to the features that are chosen by the players, the casinomay also set numerous parameters for the player such as: hold percentageof the machine, rate at which complimentaries accumulate (e.g. 2% ofcoin-in rather than 1%), game eligibility (e.g. games which lock outplay from anyone but high-rollers), and complimentary award rules (e.g.one player gets a bottle of wine sent to his room if he ever loses morethan $1,000 in one hour, while another player gets a free spin everytime he misses a one card draw to a royal flush on any deuces wildmachine).

There are many possible ways in which a player might selectcustomizations. A Web site on the central controller 102 may displaymultiple menus, each menu providing choices of embodiments for aparticular feature as depicted in FIG. 4. For example, a language menumay have the choices of English, Spanish, Chinese, or Japanese. A fontsize menu may have the choices of large, medium, or small. Menus mayalso have an “other” choice, allowing a user to select from less commonchoices (e.g. Swahili) or to key in their own choices, such as aparticular point size for font.

In some embodiments, rather than making choices on Web site residing onthe central controller 102, a player may download to the user terminal106 (or a player device 512) software allowing for customization. Thesoftware may guide the player through a series of feature menus andstore and/or upload the player's selections.

In some embodiments, the player may select features over the phone by,for example, listening to a pre-recorded menu of feature choices andthen pressing a number on the phone's keypad corresponding to thedesired choice. For example, the player may press “5” to select afive-reel slot game when asked to select a preferred number of reels.The player may press “0” to select a million-dollar jackpot when askedto select a preferred jackpot size. The player may also select featuresnot on any prerecorded menu by keying in a relevant sequence of numbers.For example, the player may key in “175000” to select a maximum jackpotof $175,000, even when there is no pre-recorded choice for a $175,000jackpot.

In some embodiments of the present invention the player may choose froma number of previously customized configurations. For example, oneconfiguration might describe a quarter denomination, five-reel videoslot machine, with standard symbols, three pay lines, and a four-coinmaximum wager. The player may choose this configuration in its totalitywithout having to individually choose the coin denomination, the numberof reels, etc. In fact, anytime a player customizes a gaming device 120configuration, the configuration may be listed on the centralcontroller's Web site for another player to select. Of course, once aplayer selects a configuration, he may be free to change individualfeatures.

Configurations listed on a central controller's Web site, or anywhereelse, may have associated performance indicators. For example, a playermay report that using “configuration #329”, he won $2000. Seeing thehigh performance of configuration #329, another player may choose toselect it for himself. Performance may be indicated using dollarfigures, varying numbers of stars, colors, votes, etc. For example, fivestars, gold, and 10,000 votes may all be indications that a particularconfiguration has performed well. Performance may be self-reported byplayers, or may be reported automatically by a gaming device 120 once aplayer has finished a gambling session using a particular configuration.Players may also self-report with gaming devices 106 providingoccasional verification of the accuracy of players' reports. Individualplayers may gain reputations as experts at configuring gaming devices106. Their advice and their configurations may be sought after. Playerstherefore may have their own ratings indicated by dollar figures, stars,colors, votes, etc.

Use of certain configurations may intentionally be restricted. This maybe done to limit the number of players attempting to play on gamingdevices 106 that are of a limited quantity within the casino.Additionally, use of certain configurations may be intentionallyrestricted because only a certain number of gaming devices 106 at agiven casino location may be capable of supporting those configurations.For example, a mechanical slot machine will be unable to support videofeatures. If too many players were to select a particular configuration,or even a particular feature, some might have difficulty locating anavailable machine to support their configuration. Configurations may bemade more widely available by allowing players to select times, dates,and geographic regions for their gambling activities. Then, playersgambling at different times or in different places need not compete forthe same machines to support like configurations.

Another reason that the use of configurations may be intentionallyrestricted is that being the only one, or one of only a few players to“own” a particular configuration may be psychologically pleasing to aplayer. Therefore, other players may be restricted from viewing or usinghis configuration. It is possible that a first player would pay anotherplayer for access to his configuration. A player might also pay thecentral controller for access to a configuration, or for informationabout high performing configurations. Particular casinos, or particulardevice manufacturers may enjoy exclusive rights to certainconfigurations, even when other casinos or manufactures would betechnically capable of supporting the configurations. A player whodesired to use a certain configuration may then have a reason to play atone casino over another.

While selecting various features or configurations in some embodiments,a player may have the opportunity to test the configurations using theuser terminal 106. For example, when the player selects a symbol-size,he may view symbols on his user terminal 106 at the size they wouldactually appear on a gaming device. When the player selects areel-speed, he may view graphical reels spinning at the same speed theywould on an actual gaming device.

In some embodiments, the user terminal 106 may display a comprehensiveor complete graphical representation of a gaming device 120 to aid inthe selection of feature values. As outcome generation is simulated, theplayer may change various features using graphical interface controls,i.e. by clicking, dragging, or otherwise selecting certain areas of thegraphical representation of the gaming device. For example, suppose thereels are spinning on the user terminal's display screen. The player maytake his mouse and drag it downwards along the surface of a spinningreel, much as a person might drag his hand along the wheel of a bicycleto make it spin. The effect would be to increase the speed of the reel'sspinning. The player may change the symbol size by clicking on a cornerof a lemon symbol, for example, and dragging the corner away from thecenter of the symbol, causing the entire symbol to enlarge. A playermight create an extra reel by clicking on one reel and dragging itright, creating another reel. Alternatively, the player might click on areel and use a copy and paste function, much like those found in manyword processing programs. Of course, there are many other ways for aplayer to interact with a graphical representation of a gaming device inorder to customize feature values.

A graphical representation of a gaming device 120 also allows a playerto engage in mock gambling sessions using his selected configuration. Ifone configuration does not win for the player in a mock session, theplayer may choose another configuration. He may keep choosing differentconfigurations until he has found one he considers lucky.

In some embodiments, a player at a gaming device 120 may be anattractive marketing target for a number of reasons. First, the playeris typically a captive audience, with eyes fixated on the game at hand.Secondly, a marketer may have advanced knowledge about the player from aplayer's player tracking card. This allows a marketer to better targetadvertisements and offers to a player. Third, the gaming device givesthe marketer an opportunity to provide immediate benefits to a player inexchange for his attention or his business. These benefits might takethe form of cash, gambling tokens, extra bonus symbols, etc. Fourth, theplayer may be highly motivated to accept from the marketers the offeredbenefits and their associated conditions. The player may, for example,have suffered a large gambling loss and wish to recover the loss byaccepting a marketing offer. Fifth, a player can make a payment at agaming device 120.

Since gaming devices are an ideal place for marketers to make pitches toplayers, players may provide advanced guidance to potential marketers.The player may answer questions about his age, marital status, financialstatus, number of children, home ownership, car ownership, medicalconditions, and so on. He may indicate the types of products in which heis interested. For example, he may mention that he is looking to havehis roof re-shingled, or that he is looking for a new life insurancepolicy. Player supplied information is a way for a player to customizethe ads and the offers he will receive, much as he also customizes theoperation of the gaming device. Once the player has received variouspromotions and had a chance to respond or ignore them, the centralcontroller 102 might update a user profile based on his responses.Analysis of the player responses may allow for better targeting ofpromotions in the future towards that player.

(ii) Determine an Associated Preparation Code

The central controller 102 assigns a preparation code to each gamingdevice configuration. The code may be in the form of any sequence ofletters, numerals, punctuation, and other symbols. Examples of codesaccording to the present invention include, “123456,” “C123456,”“ABCDEF,” and “*$%#@Q%.” Codes may be of any length. In someembodiments, codes may be limited in length and symbol usage so thatthey may be easily memorized by a player. For example, the player'stelephone or social security number may be used. Also, the symbols incodes may be restricted to those easily entered into a gaming device120. For example, a player tracking card reader on a slot machine maycontain a keypad with only numerals. Therefore, codes for that machinemay be limited to numerals.

In some embodiments, a unique code may be assigned to each uniqueconfiguration. Since there may be more possible unique configurationsthan codes of a given length, certain codes may expire after a time sothat they may be reused for new configurations. That is, code “123456”may correspond to a first configuration only for three weeks, afterwhich it may be assigned to a new configuration. A code may correspondto different configurations depending on different circumstances. Forexample, the time of day, the geographic location, and the type ofgaming device receiving the code may all determine the correspondinggaming device configuration. Advantageously, this may allow fewer codesto represent more unique gaming device configurations, since each codecan now represent several device configurations. For example, “123456”may represent a five reel, $1 per bet configuration in Atlantic City,but may represent a three reel, quarter per bet configuration in LasVegas.

When codes are assigned to configurations, the codes may simply beassigned in sequence according to the order in which configurations aredefined by players. For example, a first configuration may be assignedthe code “000129,” while a configuration received immediately afterwardsmay be assigned the code “000130.”

When a code is assigned to a configuration, a record may be created forthe code and the configuration in a database such as that of FIG. 8.When a gaming device 120, casino server 112, or the central controller102 later receives a code, it may simply examine the record in thedatabase to determine the corresponding configuration.

In alternative embodiments, a code may actually contains configurationinformation. For example, each digit of a code may correspond to adifferent feature of a configuration. The first digit may indicate thegame type, the second the font size, the third the wager size, and soon. Then, when a gaming device 120 receives a code, it need onlyinterpret each segment of the code using a predefined table in order toconfigure itself properly. Such a table may be stored in the gamingdevice 120, the casino server 112, and/or the central controller 103.

In some embodiments, a first code is created such that it containsconfiguration information. However, the code may be very long,especially if there are many features that can be customized Therefore,a second code may be created by compressing the first code according toa compression algorithm. Numerous compression algorithms for a sequenceof bits or numerals are known in the art. When the gaming device 120later receives the second code, it may reverse the compression algorithmto recover the first code and to deduce the configuration informationfrom the first code. Of course, the casino server 112 or centralcontroller 103 may perform the function of reversing the compression.

A particular configuration may be associated with a particular player.Thus, information about the player may be sufficient for a gaming device120 to obtain configuration information. For example, a player's namemay be stored in a database corresponding to a particular configuration.When the player later enters his name into a gaming device 120 (perhapsvia his player tracking card), the gaming device 120 may find theplayer's name in the database and thereby obtain the correspondingconfiguration. Other player characteristics may be associated in adatabase with configurations. A player's biometric data, such as voicedata, retinal scan data, or finger print data may be associated with aparticular configuration. When a player subsequently provides biometricdata to a gaming device 120, the gaming device 120 may look up the datain the configuration database to determine the player's preferredconfiguration.

A preparation code may take the form of a bar code, or any othermachine-readable code. The player may then print out the bar code fromhis user terminal 106. When the player subsequently inserts the bar codeinto a gaming device 120, the gaming device may obtain the player'scustomized configuration.

In some embodiments, a player may specify his own code to be associatedwith a particular configuration. For example, a player may label aconfiguration using easy to remember terms such as “samurai,” or “BigJackpot,” or “xyz.” In some embodiments, a preparation code may onlydescribe particular features that a player has selected. Other featuresmay then take on default values. For example, if a player has onlyselected the number of reels, a code might read “NRS,” where “NR” standsfor “number of reels,” and “5” indicates the desired number. Since thecode does not describe other features, these may take on default values.

(iii) Transmit the Configuration Data and Preparation Code to a CasinoServer

Once a preparation code has been associated with a particularconfiguration, the code and the configuration data may be transmitted toa casino server 112, and/or a gaming device 120. Transmission may occurvia the Internet, email, phone, fax, or any other mode of communication.In some embodiments, the code and preparation data are transmittedimmediately after they have been generated. In other embodiments, agaming device 120 may only receive configuration data after a player hasentered a code, and the gaming device 120 has sent the code to thecasino server 112 and/or the central controller 102.

In embodiments where a preparation code contains information about agaming device configuration, the central controller 102 need notnecessarily transmit both configuration data and the preparation code,since a gaming device 120 or casino server 112 may be able to derive onefrom the other according to predefined rules.

(iv) Receive the Preparation Code at the Casino Server from a GamingDevice

Next, the system waits for a configuration request from a player. When aplayer sits down at a gaming device 120, he may enter his preparationcode in order to have the gaming device assume the player's preferredfeatures. The player may enter the code in a number of ways including:keying in the code via a keypad or touch screen, speaking the code intoa microphone, whereby it is interpreted using voice recognitionsoftware, inserting a bar code into the gaming device 120, insertinginto the gaming device 120 a magnetic strip containing the code,inserting into the gaming device 120 a floppy disc, CD, DVD or otherstorage medium containing the code, and/or wirelessly transmitting thecode to the gaming device 120 using player device 512 such as a cellphone, PDA, two-way pager, or other communications device.

If the gaming device 120 cannot interpret the code, the gaming device120 may transmit the code to the casino server 112 and/or to the centralcontroller 102. The casino server 112 or central controller 103 may thenlook up the code in a preparation code database 208 such as thatdepicted in FIG. 8, and may retrieve the corresponding configurationinformation.

(v) Configure the Gaming Device Based on the Configuration DataCorresponding to the Preparation Code

The configuration data retrieved from the casino server 112 and/or thecentral controller 102, is transmitted to the gaming device so that itcan configure itself accordingly. In some embodiments described above,the gaming device 120 already has all the information it needs toself-configure upon initially receiving the preparation code from theplayer. Thus, in some embodiments, these final steps are not necessaryto complete the methods of the present invention.

H. Conclusion

It is clear from the foregoing discussion that the disclosed systems andmethods to facilitate planning and customization of a gaming experiencerepresents an improvement in, among other things, the arts of electroniccommerce and gaming. While the method and apparatus of the presentinvention has been described in terms of its presently preferred andalternate embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that thepresent invention may be practiced with modification and alterationwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The specificationsand drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Further, even though only certain embodiments have been described indetail, those having ordinary skill in the art will certainly appreciateand understand that many modifications, changes, and enhancements arepossible without departing from the teachings thereof. All suchmodifications are intended to be encompassed within the followingclaims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A gaming system servercomprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory device whichstores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the at least one processor to: (a) enable a playerto log onto a gaming establishment website via a first networked deviceassociated with the player, (b) after the player is logged onto thegaming establishment website, enable the player to initiate a play of agame, (c) for the initiated play of the game: (i) randomly determine agame outcome, (ii) cause a first display device of the first networkeddevice to display to the player the randomly determine game outcome,(iii) determine any award associated with the displayed game outcome,and (iv) cause the first display device of the first networked device todisplay to the player any determined award, (d) receive at least oneinput from the player to cause a second display device of a second,different networked device not associated with the player to display apublication of at least one invitation of a quantity of other players toeach initiate a play of at least one game, said publication of the atleast one invitation occurring separate from the gaming establishmentwebsite, said publication of the at least one invitation occurringdistinct from any display of any determined award to the player, and thequantity of other players being greater than zero, and (e) if the atleast one input from the player is received, cause a benefit to beprovided to the player.
 2. The gaming system server of claim 1, whereinwhen executed by the at least one processor, the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processor to cause the publicationof the at least one invitation via at least one selected from the groupconsisting of: an e-mail, an instant message, and a web page.
 3. Thegaming system server of claim 1, wherein the first networked device isselected from the group consisting of: a personal computer associatedwith the player, a laptop computer associated with the player, ahandheld computer associated with the player, a cellular phoneassociated with the player, and a personal digital assistant associatedwith the player.
 4. The gaming system server of claim 1, wherein: (i)the first networked device is selected from the group consisting of: apersonal computer associated with the player, a laptop computerassociated with the player, a handheld computer associated with theplayer, a cellular phone associated with the player, and a personaldigital assistant associated with the player, and (ii) the secondnetworked device is selected from the group consisting of: a personalcomputer not associated with the player, a laptop computer notassociated with the player, a handheld computer not associated with theplayer, a cellular phone not associated with the player, and a personaldigital assistant not associated with the player.
 5. The gaming systemserver of claim 1, wherein at least one of: (i) the determined awardamount, and (ii) the benefit caused to be provided if the at least oneinput from the player is received is selected from the group consistingof: a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetarycredits.
 6. The gaming system server of claim 1, which transmits andreceives data over a data network.
 7. The gaming system server of claim6, wherein the data network is an internet.
 8. The gaming system serverof claim 1, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to determinea location of the first networked device associated with the player. 9.A gaming system server comprising: at least one processor; and at leastone memory device which stores a plurality of instructions which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: (a) enable a player to log onto a gaming establishment website via afirst networked device associated with the player, (b) after the playeris logged onto the gaming establishment website, enable the player toinitiate a play of a game, (c) for the initiated play of the game: (i)randomly determine a game outcome, (ii) cause a first display device ofthe first networked device to display to the player the randomlydetermine game outcome, (iii) determine any award associated with thedisplayed game outcome, and (iv) cause the first display device of thefirst networked device to display to the player any determined award,and (d) if a triggering event occurs: (i) cause a second display deviceof a second, different networked device not associated with the playerto display a publication of at least one invitation of a quantity ofother players to each initiate a play of at least one game, saidpublication of the at least one invitation occurring separate from thegaming establishment website, said publication of the at least oneinvitation occurring distinct from any display of any determined awardto the player, and the quantity of other players being greater thanzero, and (ii) cause a benefit to be provided to the player.
 10. Thegaming system server of claim 9, wherein when executed by the at leastone processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least oneprocessor to cause the publication of the at least one invitation via atleast one selected from the group consisting of: an e-mail, an instantmessage, and a web page.
 11. The gaming system server of claim 9,wherein the first networked device is selected from the group consistingof: a personal computer associated with the player, a laptop computerassociated with the player, a handheld computer associated with theplayer, a cellular phone associated with the player, and a personaldigital assistant associated with the player.
 12. The gaming systemserver of claim 9, wherein: (i) the first networked device is selectedfrom the group consisting of: a personal computer associated with theplayer, a laptop computer associated with the player, a handheldcomputer associated with the player, a cellular phone associated withthe player, and a personal digital assistant associated with the player,and (ii) the second networked device is selected from the groupconsisting of: a personal computer not associated with the player, alaptop computer not associated with the player, a handheld computer notassociated with the player, a cellular phone not associated with theplayer, and a personal digital assistant not associated with the player.13. The gaming system server of claim 9, wherein at least one of: (i)the determined award amount, and (ii) the benefit caused to be providedif the triggering event occurs is selected from the group consisting of:a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.14. The gaming system server of claim 9, which transmits and receivesdata over a data network.
 15. gaming system server of claim 14, whereinthe data network is an internet.
 16. The gaming system server of claim9, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processor to determine a location ofthe first networked device associated with the player.
 17. A gamingsystem server comprising: at least one processor; and at least onememory device which stores a plurality of instructions which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: (a) enable a player to log onto a gaming establishment website via afirst networked device associated with the player, (b) after the playeris logged onto the gaming establishment website, enable the player toinitiate a play of a game, (c) for the initiated play of the game: (i)randomly determine a game outcome, (ii) cause a first display device ofthe first networked device to display to the player the randomlydetermine game outcome, (iii) determine any award associated with thedisplayed game outcome, and (iv) cause the first display device of thefirst networked device to display to the player any determined award,(d) enable the player to identify a group of at least one friend tocontact with a publication of at least one invitation to initiate a playof at least one game, (e) receive at least one input from the player tocause a second display device of a second, different networked devicenot associated with the player to display the publication of the atleast one invitation, said publication of the at least one invitationoccurring separate from the gaming establishment website, and (e) if theat least one input from the player is received, cause a benefit to beprovided to the player.
 18. A gaming system server comprising: at leastone processor; and at least one memory device which stores a pluralityof instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to: (a) enable a player to log onto agaming establishment website via a first networked device associatedwith the player, (b) after the player is logged onto the gamingestablishment website, enable the player to initiate a play of a game,(c) for the initiated play of the game: (i) randomly determine a gameoutcome, (ii) cause a first display device of the first networked deviceto display to the player the randomly determine game outcome, (iii)determine any award associated with the displayed game outcome, and (iv)cause the first display device of the first networked device to displayto the player any determined award, and (d) if a triggering eventoccurs: (i) enable the player to identify a group of at least one friendto contact with a publication of at least one invitation to initiate aplay of at least one game, (ii) cause a second display device of asecond, different networked device not associated with the player todisplay the publication of the at least one invitation, said publicationof the at least one invitation occurring separate from the gamingestablishment website, and (iii) cause a benefit to be provided to theplayer.
 19. A gaming system server comprising: at least one processor;and at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructionswhich, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at leastone processor to: (a) enable a first player to access a game providerinterface via a first cellular phone associated with the first player,(b) after the first player has accessed the game provider interface,enable the first player to initiate a play of a game, (c) for theinitiated play of the game: (i) randomly determine a game outcome, (ii)cause a display device of the first cellular phone to display therandomly determine game outcome to the first player, (iii) determine anyaward associated with the displayed game outcome, and (iv) cause thedisplay device of the first cellular phone to display any determinedaward to the first player, and (d) receive at least one input from thefirst player to cause a display device of a second, different cellularphone to display a publication of an invitation of a second, differentplayer to initiate a play of at least one game, said second, differentcellular phone not associated with the first player, said publication ofthe invitation occurring separate from the game provider interface, andsaid publication of the invitation occurring distinct from any displayof any determined award to the first player.
 20. A gaming system servercomprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory device whichstores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the at least one processor to: (a) enable a firstplayer to access a game provider interface via a first cellular phoneassociated with the first player, (b) after the first player hasaccessed the game provider interface, enable the first player toinitiate a play of a game, (c) for the initiated play of the game: (i)randomly determine a game outcome, (ii) cause a display device of thefirst cellular phone to display the randomly determine game outcome tothe first player, (iii) determine any award associated with thedisplayed game outcome, and (iv) cause the display device of the firstcellular phone to display any determined award to the first player, and(d) if a triggering event occurs, cause a display device of a second,different cellular phone to display a publication of an invitation of asecond, different player to initiate a play of at least one game, saidsecond, different cellular phone not associated with the first player,said publication of the invitation occurring separate from the gameprovider interface, and said publication of the invitation occurringdistinct from any display of any determined award to the first player.